a case study of god's grace

Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation

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Anger and God’s Grace: A Case Study

Journal of Biblical Counseling 14:3

In this article, an anonymous author describes first person testimonial from a man with an anger problem. He details two incidents, the turning point, how he was able to obey and what make the difference. He concludes with a discussion of present struggles and ongoing growth in the area of anger.

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JBC Volume 14:3 (Spring 1996) PDF

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There is a magnificent Greek word used 155 times in the New Testament. That word is charis - it is translated grace . It means a favor bestowed ; it means a generous benefit freely given . The sense of it in the New Testament is that it means a favor bestowed by God through His power to transform a person’s life, starting at salvation and going on from there. Let me say that again. It means a favor bestowed by God through His power to transform a person’s life, starting at salvation and going on from there.

Grace is a dynamic force, a dynamic and benevolent power, that applies the goodness of God and the resources of God to our lives, to save us, to keep us, to enable us, to deliver us, to sanctify us, to glorify us. All of God’s good favors to His children are given through the means of this beneficent goodness called grace.

In Ephesians chapter 2, it says, “God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

The purpose for a gracious salvation is that God might be unendingly gracious to us and bestow on us the surpassing riches of His grace forever. Every benefit given by God to you and to me is by grace, and always and only this grace comes through Jesus Christ. One of the most wonderful statements about our Lord was that inspired word from John, who wrote in John 1:14 of Christ, “He was full of grace.” That wondrous fact of His being full of the attribute of grace was followed by an even more thrilling reality for us, and it says in verse 16, “For of His fullness have all we received, and grace upon grace.”

So, John says, He was full of grace, and we have received that fullness, even grace accumulated. We accumulate grace for every feature of life. There is not a day that goes by in your Christian experience that you are not the recipient of God’s grace. It is grace that upholds your salvation. It is grace that gives you victory in temptation. It is grace that makes the Word live. It is grace that draws you into communion and prayer. It is grace that makes you useful for service. It is grace that enables your gift to function in the Spirit.

Those who are in Christ have received of the fullness of the one whom they have received, even Christ, who dwells within them. And therefore, available to us is an accumulated grace that is unlimited; grace for every need. Luke said, writing in Acts 4:33 of the early church, that they were experiencing abundant grace. Paul informs us that believers are standing in grace - and may I add, they’re standing head-deep in it. It is the very atmosphere we breathe.

In fact, in Romans 5:17, he called it an abundance of grace, and as I read in Ephesians 2:7, he says it’s the riches of His grace. James, not wanting to be left out, adds to what Luke wrote and what Paul wrote that whatever great need we have, God gives a greater grace. And Peter, never wanting to be left out, chimes in that we have received the manifold, or multi-faceted, or multi-colored, grace of God. It is an abundance. It is a richness. It is a multiplied grace.

From all of that, you get the distinct idea that God has not skimped on grace; not at all. Grace for salvation, grace for sanctification, grace for service, grace for suffering. In all areas, His benevolent kindness, His benevolent good favor, gives to us the transforming power we need to be sustained in every dimension of spiritual life. But nowhere is the magnificence of grace more wonderfully stated than in 2 Corinthians, and so this morning I want to draw you to 2 Corinthians chapter 9, first of all, and then over to chapter 12.

Second Corinthians chapter 9; please, would you notice verse 8? This has to be the most magnanimous, comprehensive statement about grace in all of holy Scripture. This is what it says: “And God is able” - or is powerful, is capable – “to make all grace abound to you, in order that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.” An absolutely incredible, almost unfathomable, statement, filled with superlatives - all grace abounding, that always, having all sufficiency, in all things, you may have an abundance for all good deeds.

That verse alone would indicate that there is sufficient grace for every issue of spiritual life - all grace - in profuse, multi-colored, multi-faceted abundance and richness. Grace to understand the Word, grace to wisely apply it, grace to overcome temptation, grace to overcome sin, grace to endure suffering, grace to endure disappointment, grace to endure pain, grace to obey the Lord, grace to serve Him effectively, grace through all aspects of life.

Is it any wonder that he calls it - down in verse 14 of this same chapter - “surpassing grace”; surpassing grace - it surpasses every need. And he says the surpassing grace of God is in you, and then he cannot restrain himself; he says in verse 15, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.” What a promise, what a gift. May I hasten to add that we are in desperate need of all the grace that there is? Job said - and it was obviously true – man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward.

Life is filled with trouble. Life is filled with one disaster after another. Everybody struggles. We all struggle all of our life long, to cope with problems. We struggle to be faithful, to be joyful, to be effective in serving Christ, against all of the pressure that would take away our effectiveness, our joy, our usefulness. We are fallen. Our flesh is corrupt. Though our souls have been redeemed, we live incarcerated, as it were, in the prison house of unredeemed human flesh.

And as prisoners in fallen flesh, living in a fallen world system, in a fallen cursed universe, we face incessant trouble, even in endeavoring to serve the Lord. In fact, sometimes we have to admit that since we became Christians our trouble is increased. We have difficulty in life non-stop. The question I want to pose this morning is simply this: is there sufficient grace available to us to help us through all our troubles? Simple question. Is there sufficient grace available to us to help us through all our troubles?

Now, at first that seems an obvious question, but it isn’t, apparently, to many, even in the church. There are people today who would tell us that, “Well, the Bible, and the grace that comes through it, and through the resource of God, Christ and the Holy Spirit, is not really sufficient.” They tell us that by reminding us that if we’re really going to get help with our troubles, we probably need psychology; psychiatry, maybe; certainly therapy; surely counseling; maybe medication.

And if we can avail ourselves of those twentieth century post-Freudian resources, we can somehow fill in the lack of necessary resource that is otherwise unavailable to us in our Christian faith. That sounds like a horrendous statement, but it is precisely what the church has bought today. The church has bought into the idea that the serious problems of Christians are beyond the realm of the spiritual, and they call for the psychological techniques that are being offered in our society.

Psychological clinics abound, offering themselves as superior to the church; certainly, psychological counselors are superior to pastors in solving the deep problems of people. They offer psychologically trained personnel skilled in human wisdom theory and therapy as the ones who can really solve everyone’s problem. Now, I want to acknowledge hastily that we all benefit from other Christians coming alongside us. We benefit from their encouragement, we benefit from their wisdom, we benefit from their support, we benefit from their prayers. We benefit from them just being there to sustain us in our difficulty.

I’m not talking about that; there are many fine Christian people who come alongside and help. But there is an underlying belief found - that’s found its way into the church that somehow grace is not sufficient, and there is a need for a psychological orientation. Prayer, confidence in God, His Word, they tell us, is a very shallow and inadequate method of pursuing well-being and may even be a very dangerous prescription.

When our church was sued by Mr. Nally and went through ten years of litigation, the intent of that litigation was to prove Christians, pastors, churches, inept, inadequate in counseling, and more than that, downright deadly, and the only people who were skilled enough to deal with people’s serious problems are outside the church community, trained in psychology. They said pastors, Christian people, churches in general, are absolutely inadequate.

They give these simplistic answers about the Bible and prayer, and are potentially to be liable for such foolish, reckless disregard for the well-being of people who come to them in trouble. Is that the case? Do we have sufficient grace, or do we not? Is the Word of God so insufficient - which is perfect, totally transforming the whole person, according to Psalm 19? Is the wisdom from above - which confounds all the wisdom of man and calls it foolishness - so insufficient?

Is the Lord Jesus Christ - in whom we are complete, in whom we have all things that pertain to life and godliness and have been made partakers of the divine nature and possessors of all His fullness - so insufficient? Is the Holy Spirit - who has filled us with all strength in the inner man and all the fullness of God so that we can do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think according to His resurrection power - so insufficient?

Is the package of spiritual resources we have received in salvation - which enables us to do all things through the power of our Christ - unable to sufficiently give us victory in life? When Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:5, “Our sufficiency is from God,” was he ignorant? Beloved, I submit to you that according to the words of Paul in Galatians 5:4, we have fallen from grace. What a tragic delusion has infiltrated the church, in which people no longer see the divine grace as sufficient for spiritual needs; what fools people are.

The resources are ours in Christ, and if we come to the throne of grace, where grace is dispensed in its abundance, we receive all we need. Now, to help us correct this sad delusion about sufficiency, I want you to do a little mining with me this morning. I want to take you to a mine that has so much treasure in it you won’t possibly be able to carry it all away. That mine is in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 7 to 10.

Beginning at verse 7 - 2 Corinthians 12: “And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me-- to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’

“Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weakness, that the power of Christ might dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” This is one of the most powerful texts in all the New Testament. The whole section of 2 Corinthians 10 through 13 is probably the most emotionally charged text Paul ever wrote; it literally bleeds with his heart.

Here, he lays his inner man bare, in the midst of severe attacks on him and his ministry. His integrity has been called into question by his enemies. His loyalty has been attacked. His ability to lead and make decisions has been questioned. His love has been doubted, and even denied. This is probably the greatest single barrage of abuse that Paul ever received in his life, and it was being headed up by leaders in the Corinthian church. Paul knew about suffering; shipwrecks, threatening his life, floggings with whips, beatings with rods tied together, narrow escapes for his life.

He knew about terrors of all kinds. He knew about the pain of being in stocks, where his limbs were stretched to the limit and their muscles were then taut and cramped for hour upon hour. He knew about filthy, stinking, wretched jails. He knew about foul food. He knew about torture. He knew about all of that. But no pain was more severe to him than the care of all the churches - he says that in chapter 11. What does he mean?

Does he mean administrative duties? Not on your life. What he means is the difficulty of working with people who have a high potential, because of your love commitment, of wounding you. The greatest pain the man ever knew came in his relationships; people who could disappoint him, people who would reject him, people who would fail him, people who would wound him, who would criticize him, who would betray him, people who would misunderstand him, people who would turn on the one who loved them the most.

He has to say to the Corinthians in this letter, “I’ll love you more even though you hate me.” Frankly, the deepest pain you’ll ever know, and the deepest pain I’ll ever know, is not physical; it’s not material. It doesn’t have to do with our physical body, and it doesn’t have to do with our material or economic or circumstantial life patterns. The greatest pain we will ever know is relational. It is the potential of people to devastate us, to destroy us, to abuse us.

And, apart from internal personal guilt, which has to be the greatest pain - but that is personal and internal - the most serious pain we suffer in the world comes from unfulfilled and devastated relationships. No disease is as painful as rejection. No disease is as painful as false accusation. No disease is as painful as misrepresentation, betrayal, hatred - and Paul was getting it all. So, we would expect Paul to feel the deepest trouble in his soul, and confront the most taxing problem in his life, when being attacked the most violently, and to express the deepest pain when suffering through such an experience, and that’s what he does in this text.

A man in the midst of being unloved, unappreciated, untrusted; his love was maligned and unrequited. His integrity was questioned, his fruitfulness was denied, his honesty was attacked. His sacrificial service was mocked, his credentials were scoffed at, and his authority was rejected; and they were coming to him - the people he loved the most - with this kind of abuse. There were some leaders in charge of this and he refers to them through this section, and maybe one in particular was leading the whole parade to try to destroy his ministry, and so, the dear, sacrificial, humble apostle had been repeatedly battered.

After having spent a year and a half in the Corinthian church - a year and a half of his life to that church, and the church is in shambles; opposition to him is very strong, and his heart is broken. You see, when a person puts his life on the line, unselfishly sacrificing for people and they hate him in return, that’s the deepest pain life can bear. Now, counselors’ offices, psychologists’ offices, are filled with people who are suffering from this stuff.

They’re misunderstood, they’re unappreciated, they’re rejected, they’re abused - this is always the deepest hurt - not feeling wanted, not feeling loved - because we were created for relationships. Paul had known this before, by the way, and our dear Lord had personally come to Paul to affirm His love in the moments of his deepest pain. When he was first in Corinth and he suffered some very, very difficult things, it says in chapter 18 verse 9, “The Lord said to Paul in the midst of a vision at night, ‘Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.’”

You know, when Paul needed such grace that it took a personal appearance of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ showed up to confirm him, to encourage him. The Lord appeared to him four times in his life - once on the Damascus Road, three other times when he had deep, deep need, and always in a time of severe persecution. Once when he was imprisoned in Jerusalem, once when he was stoned and left for dead outside a city in Galatia, once when he had just felt the slings and arrows of the Corinthians - in each of those occasions, the Lord came to him in a personal way.

God gave him sufficient grace. All the Christians who run off to some counselor because they want instant fulfillment - instant gratification, instant satisfaction with their lot in life, and they want somebody to fix it, so that it’ll revolve around them in the orbit that they would like it to be in - need to learn that the means of sufficient grace is taught us by Paul, not by human wisdom. Paul then is in a deep, deep time of trouble, and he learns some marvelous lessons; let’s learn them with him.

Lesson number one: God wants His children humble. That’s lesson number one: God wants His children humble and uses suffering. God wants His children humble and uses suffering; look at verse 7: “And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations” – four times I have had a personal visit from the living resurrected and glorified Jesus Christ; because of the surpassing greatness of those revelations, the extraordinary character of those – “for this reason” - what reason? – “to keep me from exalting myself!”

Because I have had such uncommon experiences - private audiences with the living Christ - to keep me from being exalted in my own mind from such experience – “there was given me” - he says; notice that little phrase – “there was given me.” We can add there, if you want, “by God”, because that’s the implication. It was a gift unsolicited by Paul, believe me. And I’ll tell you something else, it was a gift that Satan really wouldn’t want to give, because Satan doesn’t want to do anything in your life that will what?

Humble you; he wants to do everything in your life that will exalt you. That’s why it’s so foolish on a number of counts for people to do everything they can to try to eliminate suffering out of their life, and blaming Satan for the suffering, that might be exactly the reverse of the reality: God has brought Satan to bring the suffering under God’s authority to produce the humility that Satan would never want to do if he weren’t acting directly under divine orders from God.

“There was given me by God” - a gift unsolicited, one Satan would not want to give because it produced humility, not pride, and he calls it “a thorn in the flesh”. Now, when you hear that phrase you think of the last time you cut the rose bush, don’t you? And a little thorn stuck your finger. No. No, the word here means a stake , a stake , S-T-A-K-E, a sharpened wooden shaft used to impale someone. This is not a tiny little thorn that pricks your finger; this is a wooden shaft that you impale someone on, you literally drive it through them.

Please note this: it is not a thorn in the flesh, it’s not the Greek preposition en . It is a thorn for the flesh; it is a stake to be driven through my flesh to control it, because my flesh has a tendency to boast, and to be proud, and so there was given me by God a stake to impale my flesh. He further describes it - please note - “a messenger of Satan.” Now, there are probably as many explanations of that as there are days in the month, and just about every commentator that you read will offer you another one but let me see if I can’t make a very simple straight-forward interpretation.

At first reading, if you take it at face value, it’s very simple: “a messenger of Satan”. We would assume, then, that it would be someone whom Satan sent with a message - fair enough? Someone sent from Satan. That, I think, is the correct interpretation. The word messenger is angelos . Now, listen to this: that word is used 188 times in the New Testament; every time - all 188 - it refers to a person; either an earthly person, a human, or an angelic person, but always a person.

That’s 188 times. I doubt that it’s 187 times a person, and one time here an eye disease. Simply, what you have here is a person. By the way, that word also is used in Old Testament usage - the word thorn - and four times the word thorn is used in the Old Testament: once a circumstance, three times a person. So, both the word thorn and the word messenger lend to us the idea that this is somebody, and I’m personally convinced it was the ringleader of the Corinthian opposition.

Let me take you to another passage. Turn back to chapter 11 verse 14 – “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” - verse 15 – “Therefore it’s not surprising if his” - what? – “servants” - or messengers – “also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their deeds.” Now, Satan’s sending out his messengers, and I believe these are persons; I believe this is very likely a reference to a leader of this abuse in the Corinthian church.

This effective enemy was attacking Paul as a servant of Satan. What did he do? “To buffet me”; to buffet me - the word means to torment , but it means more than that; it literally comes from the root word for knuckles ; knuckles . It sometimes could be related to what we call fisticuffs. it is a word which means to deliver blows to the face . It was used to speak of that in Matthew 26:67, Mark 14:65, of the soldiers punching Jesus in the face, same word; 1 Corinthians 4:11, it’s used of Paul being punched.

So, he says, “God has commanded Satan to dispatch this guy to punch me in the face.” What? “God has commanded Satan to dispatch this guy to lead this abuse against me.” Why? “To keep me from” - what? – “exalting myself.” It has a humbling purpose. Trials have many purposes; many purposes. Trials test the strength of our faith. Trials wean us from earthly things. Trials call us to eternal hope. Trials reveal what and who we really love. Trials teach us to value God’s blessing. Trial - trials enable us to help others who suffer. Trials produce endurance, which equips us for greater usefulness.

But mostly, trials humble us; and God wants His children humble, to the degree that He will allow Satan to torment His children if it assists in their humiliation. Go to a counselor, go to a psychologist, and he’ll try to elevate your opinion of yourself; go to God, and He’ll try to deflate your opinion of yourself, and He’ll even use Satan to do it. Bless God for what humbles you, for James said, “He gives grace to the humble.”

Lesson number two: God is the only one to whom we can go in the suffering; God is the only to whom we can go in the suffering. Look at verse 8: “Concerning this” – “I went to my therapist.” No. No, it’s not what it says. “Concerning this” – “I attended a seminar.” No. “Concerning this” – “I read a book.” No. “Concerning this I entreated the Lord.” “Concerning this I rebuked Satan.” No. No. “Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me.”

In the time of his deepest need, his deepest pain, his severest trial, he didn’t go to Timothy, he didn’t go to Titus, he didn’t go to a committee, he didn’t go anywhere but to God. Why? Because it is God who sits on the throne of what? Of grace. When the delight of his life was gone, when the joy of his service was lost, he didn’t seek a formula, he didn’t seek a therapy to fix it, he didn’t seek a technique, he didn’t seek human wisdom, he went to God.

By the way, the word entreated , the verb there is used frequently in the gospels for the appeals of the sick. He went to God, and he went, it says, three times; three times. Interesting note, chapter 13 verse 1 - “This is the third time I’m coming to you” - this is the third letter he wrote. He wrote 1 Corinthians, then he wrote another letter which is not biblical, we don’t have it, and then he wrote this third letter.

He says, “I wrote you three times,” here he says, “Three times I went to God,” it seems to me that every time the trouble really got heavy, he did two things, went to God and wrote them a letter. On three separate occasions he prayed to Jesus his Lord, who was the source of all his grace needed - three times. He was persistent; he met that condition. He was believing; certainly, he believed. I mean, he went to God and prayed that God would get this messenger of Satan off his back.

He was tired of this guy who was detracting, abusing, saying terrible things about him, accusing him, stirring up churches against him; he was really weary of all of that, and he knew it was Satanic. He wasn’t so foolish as to think he could command Satan; nobody in the Bible ever did that, and no one in the New Testament ever cast Satan out of himself - or of any other believer, for that matter. Christ and the apostles cast Satan out of unbelievers.

He didn’t rebuke Satan, he didn’t bind Satan, he didn’t do anything like that. He went to the Lord who can do that. He believed, his prayer was persistent. He met all of the conditions that people tell us today are conditions for answered prayer, and he had to go back three times, and what was his request? “That it might depart from me.” He didn’t blame the man. He didn’t blame the man in Corinth, he didn’t blame the people who were against him, he didn’t even blame Satan.

He went right to God, because he knew God controls men and demons. It’s foolish to go to men. It’s even more foolish to go to demons and talk to them about it, command them or rebuke - go to God. He controls them both. What source do you go to in the time of your deepest trouble? I think people don’t do this because they don’t have the kind of relationship with God that is deep enough to draw them there. What lesser sources do you go to?

We’re selfish, we’re carnal, we’re ignorant, or we’re impatient, or we don’t really want to come into the presence of God because we’re not sure we want what God wants for us. Paul faced his greatest trial knowing God uses suffering to humble us and knowing only God could grant the grace he needed in the suffering. That leads us to the third lesson. God alone will provide grace sufficient for the trial. That’s the third lesson: God alone can and will provide grace sufficient for the trial.

Verse 9 - this is God’s answer to his prayer - “He said to me” - literally in the perfect tense, “He has said to me”, which means every time I’ve been there He said the same thing, and He keeps saying it - “My grace is sufficient for you.” That is a standing answer; that is a standing answer. After three times, he said, I dropped the issue. I got the same answer. God answered – now, notice this - not by removing the pain, not by removing the trouble, but by increasing the grace to what? Endure it.

God didn’t want to remove the trouble because the trouble had what effect? It humbled him. Secondly, it had the effect of drawing him to God. Thirdly, it had the effect of putting God’s grace on display. All the benefits were there. Why remove what generates such immense benefit - humility, communion, and God’s glory on display, and sufficient grace for such profound trouble as this? Yes, He gave relief, but not by removal; rather by sufficient grace to persevere through the necessary humbling process that drew him so tightly to commune with his God.

Paul wanted that stake on which his flesh was impaled pulled out. God wanted it in; God wanted it to stay. That answer, beloved, is the cornerstone of Christian living. We’ll have trouble, we’ll have difficulty, we’ll have temptation, we’ll have pain in this life. It is inevitable, and it is useful for our humility, and it is useful for our fellowship with God because it draws us to Him, and it is useful for His glory to be put on display.

What glory does God get if you’re happy without trouble? God never promises to remove it, but to give you the sufficient grace to endure it with joy; sufficient grace. So, lesson number one: God wants His children humble and uses suffering to produce it. Lesson number two: He is the only source to go to in our suffering. Lesson number three: He will provide sufficient grace to endure it, “for no trial has taken you but such is as common to man: and God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation make a way out.”

Lesson number four: God perfects power out of that suffering; God perfects power out of that suffering. The deepest pain and difficulty of life produces humility, and no one is effective for God who isn’t humble. The deepest pain of life produces communion with God, and in that is the sweetest experience of Christian living. Difficulty, trouble, the deepest pain of life allows God to pour out grace to sustain, which puts His grace on display and brings Him all the glory.

And trouble in life, weakness, allows God’s power to work through us. Notice verse 9 again; having said, “My grace is sufficient for you,” he says, “for power is perfected in weakness.” What a statement; what a statement. The suffering that humbles us, the suffering that forces us to God in prayer, the suffering that makes us cry out for a grace to endure, becomes the very source of power in our lives. Listen to this: it is when the Christian has lost human ability to deal with his difficulty - it is when the Christian is weak, without resources, and destitute, and left totally to trust in God’s power in grace to sustain him, that he becomes a channel through which God’s power can flow.

I praise God for adversity. I praise God for the messengers of Satan sent to drive a stake through my flesh. I have found my power - whatever of it God has graciously bestowed - through weakness. Beloved, Christ’s grace is sufficient not because it eliminates weakness, but because it produces a human weakness through which a divine power surges; no one is too weak to be powerful, but some people are too strong. There may be a so-called painless dentistry, but there is no such force as painless power.

Whatever kind of power you name, you will find it to be something which is developed at an expense. It requires pressure, fire, constriction, tribulation. For example, water power comes from the pressure of accumulated masses of water backed up by a dam and forced through turbines which generate electricity. Steam power comes by fire, which heats the water until it expands and creates pressure in a cylinder. Electric power is by constriction, which acts by a negative and positive current causing motion.

Gasoline power is the explosion of volatile gasoline in a chamber called a cylinder, where that exploded gasoline expands and pushes the cylinder head to create motion. And it’s a similar kind of thing, where in the spiritual sphere, physical suffering, mental anguish, create a pressure that produces power. What was Paul’s response? Back to verse 9. “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weakness, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”

He doesn’t love the abuse; he’s not a masochist. He knows it is Satanic, but he sees it as a means by which God releases His power through his life, because when Paul has lost all his reputation, he can’t ride on his reputation. When he has lost all his physical strength, he can’t depend on his physical strength. He therefore must be completely dependent on the power of his message and his life, and that is an unarguable issue.

You may criticize the man, you may criticize what he does and how he does it, but you have difficulty if in his weakness he is powerful for God. He loves the grace and he loves the power that he experiences in his weakness, so he says, “I’ll rather boast about my weakness, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” As a result, a life principle to live by is given in verse 10: “Therefore I am well content” - with what, Paul? Prosperity, health, wealth, happiness, success? No.

“I am well content with weaknesses, insults, distresses, persecutions, difficulties, for Christ’s sake.” You say, “What? Paul, you need to go to the counselor; he can fix all that.” No, no. I don’t want to go to the counselor and get it fixed. I’m content with it, because there’s this principle that when I’m weak” - what? – “then I’m strong.” Charles Hadden Spurgeon tells of an occasion when he was riding home one evening after a heavy day’s work, and feeling weary and depressed, and the verse came to mind, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

And he immediately compared himself to a little fish in the Thames River, apprehensive, lest drinking so many pints of water in the river each day, he might drink the Thames dry, and hearing Father Thames say to him, “Drink away, little fish; my stream is sufficient for you.” And then he thought of a little mouse in the granaries of Egypt, afraid, lest it might by daily consumption of the corn it needed, exhaust the supplies and starve to death. And Joseph comes along, and sensing its fear, says, “Cheer up, little mouse; my granaries are sufficient for you.”

And then he thought of a man climbing some high mountain to reach its lofty summit and dreading, lest he might exhaust all the oxygen in the atmosphere by breathing up there, and the Creator booms His voice out of heaven, “Breathe away, old man, and fill your lungs; my atmosphere is sufficient.” God’s grace is sufficient for every need of every life, and more.

Father, we thank You for our time this morning, precious time in Your Word, and the reminder that Your grace is sufficient. We think of the words of the song. “He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater / He sendeth more strength when labors increase / To added affliction, He addeth His mercy / To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace / When we have exhausted our store of endurance / When our strength has failed e’er the day is half done / When we reach the end of our hoarded resources / Our Father’s full giving is only begun.”

Why? “His love has no limit, His grace has no measure / His power has no boundary known unto men / For out of His infinite riches in Jesus / He giveth and giveth and giveth again.” For that, we bless You, with thanksgiving. Amen.

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Grace in Scripture: 7 Biblical Meanings and Examples

I've taken a deep look into the scriptures to understand the true meanings and examples of grace.

In this article, we'll explore seven different interpretations of grace found in the Bible.

We'll discover how grace can bring forgiveness, redemption, divine help, and unmerited favor into our lives.

Grace has the power to transform us, encouraging us to live righteously and show compassion and mercy to others.

Let's explore the amazing nature of grace together.

Key Takeaways

• Grace is a transformative force that brings hope and peace.
• Grace offers forgiveness, redemption, and a restored relationship with God.
• Grace has the power to heal past mistakes and sins.
• Grace provides guidance, strength, and comfort in times of distress.

Grace as a Gift From God

Grace is a gift from God that I've personally experienced and am grateful for. It's a transformative force that has the power to change one's life in profound ways. When I think of grace, I think of it as a life-changing experience that brings hope and peace.

Grace isn't something that can be earned or achieved through our own efforts; it's freely given by God. It's through grace that we're able to experience forgiveness, redemption, and a restored relationship with God. Grace offers us hope in times of despair and peace in the midst of chaos. It's a constant reminder of God's unconditional love and mercy towards us.

Through grace, we're able to experience true transformation and find solace in the midst of life's challenges.

Grace as Forgiveness and Redemption

When considering the concept of grace as forgiveness and redemption, it's important to recognize its transformative power.

One aspect of grace is its ability to heal us from the wounds of our past mistakes and sins.

Through grace, we're given the opportunity to be forgiven and redeemed, allowing us to experience true transformation in our lives.

This process of salvation and redemption is a central theme in the Bible, illustrating the depth of God's love and mercy towards humanity.

Healing Through Grace

Experiencing healing through grace involves embracing the transformative power of forgiveness and redemption.

In the context of emotional well-being, grace offers a pathway to healing and restoration. When we extend grace to ourselves or others, we release the burden of resentment and anger, allowing space for healing to occur.

Through grace, we acknowledge that we're all imperfect and capable of mistakes, and we offer forgiveness to those who've wronged us. This act of grace not only brings emotional healing to the one forgiven but also frees us from the weight of bitterness and resentment.

Similarly, when we receive grace from others, we experience a sense of redemption, knowing that our past mistakes don't define us. Grace, therefore, becomes a powerful force in our journey towards emotional well-being and restoration.

Transformation Through Forgiveness

Through forgiveness and redemption, grace transforms us into new creations.

The power of forgiveness is truly transformational and brings about deep healing in our lives. When we choose to forgive others, we release the burden of anger, resentment, and hurt that we've been carrying. This act of forgiveness allows us to experience freedom and opens the door for restoration and redemption.

The transformative power of grace is evident in the stories of biblical figures such as Joseph, who forgave his brothers after they betrayed him, and the prodigal son, who was welcomed back with open arms by his father.

Forgiveness not only heals our own hearts, but it also has the potential to transform relationships, communities, and even the world. By embracing forgiveness, we can experience the transformative healing that grace offers.

Salvation and Redemption

As I reflect on the transformative power of grace, I'm reminded of how salvation and redemption are integral aspects of grace.

In the Bible, grace is often portrayed as the means through which we experience rebirth and new life. It's through God's grace that we're delivered from the bondage of sin and offered the opportunity for a fresh start.

The concept of redemption is closely intertwined with grace, as it speaks of our liberation from the consequences of our actions. Through grace, God offers us forgiveness and the chance to be reconciled with Him. This redemption isn't something we can earn or achieve on our own, but rather a gift freely given by God.

It's through His grace that we're saved and experience true freedom and restoration.

Grace as Divine Help and Strength

Divine grace empowers me with the strength and assistance needed to navigate life's challenges. In the realm of spirituality, grace is often understood as a divine empowerment that provides individuals with the necessary spiritual strength to overcome obstacles and fulfill their purpose.

Here are five ways in which grace manifests as divine help and strength:

• Grace offers guidance: It illuminates our path and helps us discern right from wrong, providing clarity and wisdom in decision-making.
• Grace provides comfort: It offers solace and peace during times of distress, giving us the assurance that we aren't alone in our struggles.
• Grace strengthens faith: It deepens our trust in God, enabling us to persevere and remain steadfast in our beliefs, even in the face of adversity.
• Grace empowers transformation: It enables us to grow and mature spiritually, encouraging us to let go of negative habits and embrace a life of righteousness.
• Grace sustains us in weakness: It supports us in our moments of vulnerability, granting us the strength to endure and carry on.

Through divine grace, we find the strength and assistance we need to navigate the challenges of life, ultimately leading us to a deeper connection with the divine and a more fulfilling spiritual journey.

Grace as Unmerited Favor

I receive unmerited favor through God's grace. Grace, in the biblical context, is often described as unearned blessings and undeserved kindness. It's a concept that highlights God's unconditional love and mercy towards humanity.

The idea of unmerited favor suggests that God freely bestows His blessings upon us, not because of anything we've done or deserve, but purely out of His own goodness and grace. This understanding challenges the notion that we can earn or merit God's favor through our actions or good deeds. Instead, it emphasizes the grace of God as a gift, given to us freely and without any merit on our part.

This concept of unmerited favor reminds us of our utter dependence on God and His abundant love for us.

Grace as Transformation and Renewal

Grace as transformation and renewal is a profound concept found throughout Scripture. It's the understanding that God's grace has the power to completely transform and renew a person's life. This transformative power of grace is seen in the stories of individuals who, through encountering God's grace, have experienced radical change and renewal in their lives.

Divine grace isn't just about receiving unmerited favor, but also about being transformed and renewed to become more like Christ.

Grace's Transformative Power

Experiencing God's grace can truly turn my life around, bringing about a powerful transformation and renewal. Grace has the transformative power to bring about significant changes in our lives, allowing us to grow and become better versions of ourselves.

Here are five ways in which grace can have a life-changing influence:

• Forgiveness: Grace enables us to forgive ourselves and others, freeing us from the burden of resentment and anger.
• Redemption: Grace offers us a chance for redemption, allowing us to leave behind our past mistakes and start anew.
• Healing: Grace can heal our wounds, both physical and emotional, bringing comfort and restoration to our lives.
• Empowerment: Grace empowers us to overcome challenges and obstacles, giving us the strength and courage to face difficult situations.
• Transformation: Grace transforms our hearts and minds, shaping our character and enabling us to live a life aligned with God's will.

Through the transformative power of grace, we can experience a profound and lasting change in our lives, enabling us to live a life of purpose, joy, and fulfillment.

Renewal Through Divine Grace

In my experience, the transformative power of divine grace brings about a renewal like no other. Through divine intervention, grace has the ability to revive the spirit and bring about a spiritual revival.

Divine grace isn't simply a passive force, but an active agent that works within us to bring about transformation and renewal. It's through divine grace that we're able to experience a deep and profound change in our lives. This renewal goes beyond surface-level changes; it goes to the very core of our being, renewing our minds, hearts, and souls.

Divine grace has the power to break chains, heal wounds, and restore us to wholeness. It's in this renewal through divine grace that we find true freedom and liberation.

Grace as Empowerment for Living Righteously

As a Christian, I've personally witnessed how the grace of God empowers believers to live righteously. Grace isn't just about receiving forgiveness for our sins, but it also provides us with the strength and ability to live according to God's will.

Here are five ways in which grace empowers us to live righteously:

• Grace enables us to overcome temptation: Through the power of God's grace, we're able to resist the allure of sin and make choices that honor Him.
• Grace transforms our hearts: It's through the work of grace that our hearts are changed, enabling us to desire righteousness and pursue it wholeheartedly.
• Grace gives us the ability to forgive: As recipients of God's grace, we're empowered to extend forgiveness to others, even when it's difficult.
• Grace equips us for service: God's grace not only saves us, but it also equips us with spiritual gifts and abilities to serve Him and others.
• Grace sustains us in times of trial: When we face challenges and hardships, God's grace strengthens us, giving us the perseverance to endure and remain steadfast in our faith.

Grace as a Call to Show Compassion and Mercy

Grace calls us to demonstrate compassion and mercy towards others, extending the same forgiveness and love that we've received from God.

Compassion and empathy are essential qualities that reflect the grace of God in our lives. When we show compassion, we're actively putting ourselves in the shoes of others, seeking to understand their pain and struggles. This leads to acts of kindness and love, as we reach out to help and support those in need.

The biblical examples of grace highlight the importance of showing compassion and mercy. Jesus, in His ministry, consistently demonstrated compassion towards the marginalized and oppressed, showing us the way to follow.

As recipients of God's grace, we're called to be instruments of grace, showing compassion and mercy to others in our words and deeds.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the biblical definition of grace.

The biblical understanding of grace is the unmerited favor and love that God shows towards humanity. It is of utmost significance in salvation, as it is through God's grace that we are saved and reconciled to Him.

How Does Grace Differ From Mercy in Scripture?

Grace differs from mercy in scripture by encompassing both forgiveness and salvation. While mercy focuses on withholding punishment, grace goes beyond by offering unmerited favor and the opportunity for redemption through faith in Jesus Christ.

Can Grace Be Earned Through Good Works?

Grace cannot be earned through good works. It is a free gift from God, received through faith. Good works are a result of grace, not a means to earn it. Grace is essential for salvation.

Are There Any Limitations to God's Grace?

There are limitations to God's grace, although it is abundant and freely given. Understanding grace requires acknowledging that it is not earned through good works, but rather a gift of God's unmerited favor.

How Can Individuals Experience and Receive God's Grace in Their Lives?

To experience and receive God's grace, I must cultivate gratitude for His blessings and surrender to His divine guidance. By acknowledging His goodness and submitting to His will, I open myself to the transformative power of His grace in my life.

Grace in scripture encompasses a range of meanings and examples, highlighting its profound significance in the lives of believers. It's a gift from God, offering forgiveness, redemption, and divine assistance.

Grace also represents unmerited favor, transforming and renewing individuals. It empowers believers to live righteously and calls them to show compassion and mercy.

The multifaceted nature of grace underscores its central role in the Christian faith, providing hope, guidance, and strength to those who embrace it.

As we reflect on the depth of God's grace, we're left pondering how this understanding can shape our own lives and relationships.

Hi there! I'm Tiffany Christensen, and I have a passion for all the stories and lessons the Bible has to offer. Ever since I was little, I've been drawn to the way these ancient texts still resonate today. I've devoted my studies to Christian theology and enjoy translating that into everyday language that’s easy to connect with. My goal is to bring the pages of the Bible to life in a way that's both informative and engaging. I'm thrilled to share this journey with you through my writing on Biblical Pathway.

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What Is God’s Grace? (7 powerful truths About The Grace Of God)

What is God’s grace?

If you have ever been in church you’ve likely heard about God’s grace. It’s one of those words that you hear almost every Sunday. It’s a buzzword of sorts. While we hear about it all the time, many miss how God’s grace actually applies to our lives. 

We use the word so much I think we’ve forgotten what grace actually means. Worse, I think we’ve forgotten how beautiful and life-changing God’s love and grace is. So what I want to do in this blog post is help you discover, or rediscover the beauty of it. Let’s dive into what God’s grace is and how it applies to our life.

The Meaning Of God’s Grace

Let’s start by looking briefly at the Biblical definition of the word grace.

The Greek word charis ( χάρις ) is what is often translated as grace in the New Testament. This word brings a picture of kindness, showing favor, often with a focus on a benefit being given. 

Grace is what God does because he’s gracious. Grace is a gift of God. Not because we deserve it or did enough good works. But instead, because God is good. Grace is a result of the love of God. It’s the unmerited favor of God.

The word grace is rich. Its meaning reaches far beyond the textbook answer. So what I want to look at is how we can better understand this grace that God gives us and what it does in our life.

What Is God’s Grace? (7 Works Of Grace) 

So, what is God’s grace? What does it do? Let’s look at 7 facets of God’s grace. 

1. God’s Grace Is About Forgiveness 

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23-24 ( read more here )

The Bible teaches us that grace is a gift of God. Our mistakes, our sins, condemn us and separate us from God. But God doesn’t leave us to deal with the consequences of our sins. On the cross, Jesus Christ displayed his great love for us by taking on what we deserved. 

The grace of God gives us what we need instead of what we deserve. In our time of need, God provides us with divine assistance. The act of grace is not what we deserve, but it’s what we are in desperate need of. 

God’s grace allows us to experience forgiveness and lets us live in freedom from our sins. 

2. God’s Grace Is Undeserved (but he gives it anyway) 

He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. 2 Timothy 1:9

The beauty of God’s grace can only be fully understood when we realize how fallen, broken, and undeserving we are. Simply put, we do not deserve grace. We deserve death. But again, God gives us what we need instead of what we deserve. We cannot do anything to earn it. The result of works will never earn God’s grace. 

I see some Christians who feel entitled to grace. Like it was God’s pleasure to die for them. Jesus didn’t go to the cross because we are worthy, but because he is good. 

We have done and can do nothing to earn God’s grace. Our own effort and good behavior will always fall short. The Bible makes clear that the results of works on our own amount to nothing. It’s by the grace of God alone that we are saved. 

3. God’s Grace Is New Everyday

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. Psalm 103:8

I don’t know about you, but I can’t go very long without making a mistake. I find myself in constant need of God’s grace. And thankfully his grace is with me every morning when I wake up. 

All our past sins, present sins, and future sins are covered when we put our faith in Jesus. That should not be an invitation to keep sinning. Rather a way out of the cycle of sinning. God’s grace is new every day, and that allows us to be transformed into his image. 

By the grace of God I’m not who I once was, but I’m not fully there yet. I’m in process, I’m being transformed. God’s grace allows me to continue in this transformation process. When I screw up again today I will wake up to new grace tomorrow. 

Whatever you have done, are doing, or will do, God’s grace is new every day. Not so you can keep on sinning. But so you can once again step into freedom. 

4. God’s Grace Adopts Us Into His Family 

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 1 John 3:1-3

Throughout the Bible you see God call his followers his children. Apostle Paul says we were adopted into God’s family (Romans 8:15). God has shown his incredible love for us by bringing us into his family. 

Think of the implications of that. To be a child of God. The one who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present is your Father. 

If we can keep our focus on this, how we live our lives will change. God cares about us and is guiding us. We need not worry. We are his children and he loves us. 

God’s grace brings us into his family; we are God’s children, heirs to the throne. 

5. God’s Grace Brings Us Closer To Our Father

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Many view God’s grace as a “get out of hell free” card or access to eternal life. But that misses the point. God’s desire isn’t to just spare you from pain. It’s to reunite you with him. He wants the relationship that sin severed to be restored. 

The forgiveness of sins allows this to happen. It doesn’t just save us from hell, it reunites us with our heavenly Father. 

Grace allows us to come back. Sin cast us away. It created a chasm that kept us apart. Grace is the bridge that allows us to come back to the other side. It mends the wounds that sin caused. It forgives the mistakes that we made. Grace brings us back to the Father.

6. God’s Grace Allows Us To Live In Freedom 

For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:14

We think freedom is doing whatever we want to do when we want to do it. That might appear to be freedom. But that kind of life doesn’t set you free, it enslaves you. Grace frees us and allows us to live as God intended. 

When people look at the “rules” God gives his children, many scoff. Any good parent gives their children rules. Not to hamper their fun or restrain their freedom. But to keep them safe and allow them to fully experience life. 

Guardrails on the side of the road are there to protect you from the dangers of careening off the road. The Holy Spirit gives us guardrails to keep us on the path of freedom. Freedom isn’t the ability to do whatever you want. Freedom is living as God designed. 

God’s grace frees us from the shackles of sin and allows us to live in freedom.

7. God’s Grace Is Open To All 

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. Titus 2:11

Followers of Jesus are often stingy with grace. But God is not, he gives it to anyone and everyone that wants it. That’s why songs like “Amazing Grace” exist because it extends to even the worst of sinners. 

Every single human being on this planet is loved by God and has the offer of grace extended to them. All they have to do is accept it. 

Sadly this message is lost on the world because the church is much more selective with grace than Jesus was. Only those “deserving” should receive grace. The problem is not one person is deserving of what Christ Jesus did. Not one. We are all terribly broken and in need of grace. 

Therefore, we should show grace generously because we’ve been given grace generously. God’s grace is for EVERYONE. 

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H.B. Charles, Jr. :: Surprised by Grace (2 Samuel 9)

"O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell in your holy hill?" David begins Psalm 15 with these provocative questions. The body of the psalm answers these opening questions. It describes that character and conduct of the person who pleases God. The last line of Psalm 15:4 tells us that a godly person is one "who swears to his own hurt and does not change." He keeps his word even when it costs him. She keeps her promises no matter what. The point is that godly people are promise keepers. David teaches that in Psalm 15 . David exemplifies this in 2 Samuel 9 , which is a part of what scholars call "THE SUCCESSION NARRATIVE OF DAVID." It is a detailed account of Israel's transition from Saul's rule to the establishment of David's reign. By 2 Samuel 9 , David has accomplished great military victories and is enjoying peace, power, and prosperity. And during this period David lavishes kindness on a crippled man named Mephibosheth.

There are two seasons of life that test and reveal a person's character: (1) seasons of adversity and (2) seasons of prosperity. And this season of success clearly demonstrates that David was man after God's own heart. And I want us to look at David's heart as it revealed in his kindness to Mephibosheth so that through it we might see God's kindheartedness toward you and me. STEVE JONES comments: "Just as x-rays pass through the human body and reveal an accurate picture of the heart to the physician's trained eye, there are some important ways in which the actions of David revealed the heart of God. We get some of those x-rays in the remarkable story of Mephibosheth." 2 Samuel 9 is a historical event that functions as a parable to teach us that the grace of God is a wonderful surprise that's too good not to be true.

In his book What's So Amazing About Grace , PHIL YANCEY writes a friend who overheard an interesting conversation on a bus one day. A woman was reading. And the man sitting next to her asked what she was reading. She told him. It was M. SCOTT PECK'S bestseller, The Road Less Traveled . The man asked what it was about. Admitting she had just begun the book, she answered by reading him the chapter titles from the table of contents. When she mentioned the section on "Grace," the man interrupted and asked what grace was about. She replied, "I have gotten that far yet."

The same thing can be said about the Bible. No matter how much scripture you may read, study, or memorize; you have not gotten far into the Bible if you don't know what is teaches about grace. Without oversimplifying the message of this expansive library of sixty books, I submit that the bible is simply about the glory of the grace of God. The grace of God is everywhere in the Bible. And it is not boring grace. It's always a wonderful surprise of amazing grace. In Genesis 3 , when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, not only did God not immediately strike them dead (sparing mercy), but he also clothed them in coats of skin to cover the guilt-induced shame of the nakedness (surprising grace). And throughout scripture — all the way through the book of Revelation — God keeps surprising us with amazing grace. Of course, the biggest surprise of amazing grace is the virgin birth, perfect life, atoning death, and glorious resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And David's kindness to Mephibosheth illustrates the surprising grace of God that seeks us, welcomes us, and enriches us through Jesus Christ.

I. THE GRACE OF GOD REACHES OUT TO THE LOST.

2 Samuel 8 describes David as being in a place in his life where he didn't need anything. But in 2 Samuel 9 , the one who didn't need anything was searching for something: HE WAS SEEKING SOMEONE TO SHOW COVENANT KINDNESS TO. And verse 3 makes it clear that David understood that his kindness was a derivative of the kindness of God. In other words, David wanted to be kind in order to imitate God. Don't miss that. God is a kindhearted sovereign who is seeking and searching for someone to be gracious to.

Because we can only see reality through the limited perspective of our personal experience, Christians often speak of our conversion to saving-faith in Christ in terms of us seeking God. But salvation actually happens the other way around. Romans 3:10-11 says, "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; n one seeks for God." Dig you get that? Unrighteous people don't seek God. Every sinner does what the first sinners did. Adam and Eve tried to hide from God, not seek God. And every unconverted sinner is a convicted fugitive on the run from divine justice who is only saved because of the personal missionary work of almighty God. I once read about an entire police force that was mobilized to catch a car thief who had stolen an old, beat-up Volkswagen bug. They even broadcast radio bulletins to find this suspect. These great efforts were made to catch this thief because the owner of the car informed the authorities that there was a box of crackers in the front seat that he had laced with rat-poison to kill some rodents in his house. So the police desperately searched for the man, not to lock him up, but to save his life. And that's how the grace of God operates. In Luke 19:10 , Jesus says, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost."

GOD REACHES OUT TO US BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS . Nothing forced David to seek out Mephibosheth. And no one pressured him to do it. Something within David moved him to reach out and act in kindness. And it's the same way with God. Mark it down. God does not owe you anything. More specifically, God does not owe you any good thing. Indeed, God owes each of us divine justice, holy wrath, and eternal punishment. But you don't want God to give you what you deserve. And this is why grace is such a wonderful surprise. God has not treated us as our sins deserve. Instead, his reaches out to with sparing mercy, saving grace, and steadfast love. Ephesians 2:4-5 says: "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved."

GOD REACHES OUT TO US FOR THE SAKE OF ANOTHER . The external reason why David sought out someone to show kindness to wasn't because of Mephibosheth. It was because of Mephibosheth's father, Jonathan. Jonathan and David were best friends. In fact, Jonathan loved David so much that he protected him from Saul's wrath and supported his ascension to the throne of Israel, even though he was Saul's son who was next in line to be king. In 1 Samuel chapters 18 and 20 , David and Jonathan entered into covenant agreement with one another. David promised to be kind to Jonathan's house after his promotion and Jonathan's death. And in 2 Samuel 9 , David now seeks out someone from the house of Jonathan to whom he can show the loyal love of God. David was gracious to Mephibosheth for the sake of another — JONATHAN. And God is gracious toward us for the sake of another — Jesus.

In the movie The Last Emperor, the young child who is the last emperor of China lives a magical life of luxury with a thousand eunuch servants at his command. "What happens when you do wrong?" his brother asks. "When I do wrong, someone else is punished," the boy emperor replies. To demonstrate, he breaks a jar, and one of the servants is beaten. The Lord Jesus Christ reversed this pattern for our sakes: When the servants erred, the King was punished. Isaiah 55:4-6 says, "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned — every one — to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." 2 Corinthians 5:21 puts it this way: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

GOD REACHES OUT TO US IN SPITE OF US. Ziba was a servant of Saul who was administrating Saul's estate. And when David summoned him and inquired about the surviving members of Saul and Jonathan's family, Ziba singled out Mephibosheth — even though there were others he could have mentioned. Interestingly, he does not mention Mephibosheth by name. In verse 3 , Ziba introduced Mephibosheth by his condition: "he was crippled in his feet." When the news of the death of Saul and Jonathan reached the royal family, they fled. 2 Samuel 4:4 tells us that Mephibosheth was just five-years-old at the time. And in the haste to flee, his nurse dropped him, leaving his feet permanently crippled. It seems that Ziba reports Mephibosheth's condition to say to David that he was not worth David's time — he could neither help nor hurt the king.

Undeterred by Ziba's unflattering description of Mephibosheth, David replied, "Where is he?" Ziba then reports that Mephibosheth was hiding out in the home of benefactors who lived in Lo-debar. The name "LO-DEBAR" means "no pasture." We do not know much about Lo-debar. But scholars agree that its name was meant to indicate that it was a barren, unfruitful, terrible place. Mephibosheth was a crippled man from a fallen dynasty living in a horrible environment. Yet David reached out to him in kindness. Verse 5 says, "Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar." That's grace. It's what grace does for us. The grace of God reaches out to us in spite of us. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

II. THE GRACE OF GOD WELCOMES IN THE ENEMY.

No doubt, David's kindness came as a complete surprise to Mephibosheth. When the king's soldiers knocked at his door and carried him to Jerusalem, he must have seen his whole life flash before his eyes. Mephibosheth knew how it went. When a new king arose, he would put to death the family of the previous dynasty so there would be no revolts or rebellions later. So Mephibosheth must have entered David's presence like a cornered enemy. But David embraced him like a long, lost friend. And David's warm welcome of Mephibosheth teaches us two important things about grace.

GRACE MEANS THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE AFRAID OF GOD'S WRATH . Can you imagine the sense of terror that must have consumed Mephibosheth when he met the king? He feared David. He was scared of being brutally tortured and executed. He was afraid because there was absolutely nothing he could do about whatever was about to happen to him. Imagine his surprise when King David says to him, "Do not fear, for I will show you kindness…" David's kindness removed Mephibosheth's fear. And God's grace does the same for us. So we can confidently sing Psalm 27 : "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

One day, President Thomas Jefferson was riding horseback cross-country when he and his companions came to a swollen river. A wayfarer stood at the banks as several of the party passed by. But when President Jefferson approached, he hailed him, asking if the president would carry him across the river on his horse. Once on the other side, on the group asked the wayfarer why he selected the president to ask this favor of. "The president," said the man with surprise. "I didn't know he was the president. All I know is that on some of the faces is written the answer 'no' and on some faces is written the answer 'yes.' His was a 'yes' face."

That's a good definition of grace. Grace is the smiling face of God. Grace communicates God's acceptance, approval, and affirmation. God's grace means that we have to fear the judgment, wrath, and condemnation of God. In John 10:28-30 , Jesus says: "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father' are one." Praise God that you don't have to be afraid of death, hell, and the grave

WHAT HAVE I TO DREAD? WHAT HAVE I TO FEAR? LEANING ON THE EVERLASTING ARMS I HAVE PERFECT PEACE, WITH MY LORD SO NEAR LEANING ON THE EVERLASTING ARMS.

GRACE MEANS THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE AFRAID OF YOUR WEAKNESS . David promised to show kindness to Mephibosheth. David vowed to restore Saul's estate to Mephibosheth. And David assured Mephibosheth that he had a permanent place as the royal table. Naturally, these royal favors overwhelmed Mephibosheth. And he moved from being surprised by grace to becoming skeptical toward grace. Verse 8 says, "And he paid homage and said, "What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?'" One of the most degrading things you could call a person in David's day was a "dog." And for a person to call himself a dog would be a great act of self-deprecation that expressed humble submission before a superior authority. But note that Mephibosheth does not just call himself a dog. He calls himself a "dead dog." That's how Mephibosheth saw himself. Less than nothing. Worse that the worst. Lower than rock bottom. But that's not how David saw Mephibosheth. And that's not how God sees you.

There is a sociological concept that is called "the theory of the looking-glass self." The idea is that we have a way of seeing ourselves through the eyes of other people — so much so that we incorporate their views of us into our own self-concept. This is why so many of us have such a perverted view of life. We only see ourselves through the lens of other people's opinions — parents, siblings, lovers, teachers, the media, church folks, etc. But grace leads us to look at ourselves through the mirror of God's amazing grace. And there, we don't have to be afraid of what we see. Faith is God's grace is simply about accepting God's acceptance of you. I know you are crippled. And I know that you are may be in Lo-debar. But I have good news for you. God loves you. There is nothing that can make God love you more. And there is nothing that can make God love you less. In Romans 8:38-39 , Paul says, "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

III. THE GRACE OF GOD LIFTS UP THE FALLEN.

Verses 6-8 record David's conversation with Mephibosheth. Then verses 9-11 record David's conversation with Ziba about Mephibosheth: "Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master's grandson shall always eat at my table.' Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then Ziba said to the king, 'According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.' So Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons." These verses illustrate three ways in which the grace of God lifts up the fallen.

GOD'S GRACE GIVES UNDESERVED RICHES . That's what David did for Mephibosheth. He restored to him all the land of Saul and Jonathan. David didn't have to do that to keep his promise to Jonathan. He could have just put Mephibosheth on a kind of royal "welfare system" and kept Saul's estate for himself. But David gave it all to Mephibosheth. And it was apparently so great that verse 10 says it would take Ziba's fifteen sons and twenty servants to care for all that land. With one decree of sovereign grace, Mephibosheth went from living in someone else's house in Lo-debar to owning his own royal estate. This is what grace does. God's grace enriches us. Matthew 5:3 says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God." 2 Corinthians 8:9 says: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." Ephesians 1:3 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places."

GOD'S GRACE GIVES UNCONDITIONAL FAVOR . Four times in this chapter — verses 7 , 10, 11 , and 13 — we are told that David gave Mephibosheth a permanent place at his royal table. This gracious act was definitely not a subtle form of house arrest to keep an eye on Mephibosheth. And it was not a royal handout to meet his physical need for food. David had already given Mephibosheth so much land that it would take more some thirty-five people to care for it. So this was not about food. It was about favor. Verse 11 says that Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons. In a real sense, David adopted Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was not just a guest at the royal table. He was a member of the royal family. Verse 13 says, "So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table. Now he was lame in both his feet." Mephibosheth remained crippled. But his crippled feet were hidden under the king's table. That's what grace does. It covers us. Romans 5:20 says, "Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, graced abounded all the more."

GOD'S GRACE GIVES UNENDING SECURITY . 2 Samuel 21:1-7 illustrates David's ongoing protection of Mephibosheth. Saul had waged an unjust war against Gibeonites. But the punishment for Saul's sin didn't fall on Israel until David's reign. A three-year famine struck the land. And when David prayed about it, God told him about Saul's sin. So David went to the Gibeonites to make restitution. And the Gibeonites demanded that David hand over seven of Saul's sons that they may hang them. And David agreed. But 2 Samuel 21:7 says that David would not give them Mephibosheth.

A certain man sought to adopt a troubled teenager. As the process of adoption was going on, the young girl did a terrible thing to break the man's heart. And all of his family and friends warned him that he should immediately end the adoption process. "After all," they argued, "she's not really your daughter." But the man resolutely replied, "I know. But I told her she was. And I am not going to change my mind." This is how the grace of God treats us. Lamentations 3:22-23 says: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

How should you respond to grace and goodness of God? Let me answer by telling you about another episode from Mephibosheth's life. It's recorded in 2 Samuel 19:24-30 . David's kingdom was threatened by a political and military revolt led by his own son, Absalom. And during this conflict, David became a refugee in exile from his beloved city of Jerusalem. Ultimately, David prevailed. Absalom was defeated and killed in battle. And David finally returned to Jerusalem. Upon his arrival, he had to settle some issues with several people. One of them was Mephibosheth. When David fled Jerusalem, Mephibosheth remained behind. Ziba told David that Mephibosheth stayed behind because he had turned against the king and sided with the enemy. But when David returned to Jerusalem, he was met by Mephibosheth who had not bathed or shaven since David's departure. And in this apparent state of mourning, Mephibosheth gave his side of the story. Ziba left him. And being crippled, he had no other means of fleeing. David, not knowing whose story to believe, decided to split Saul and Jonathan's estate evenly between Ziba and Mephibosheth. But in 2 Samuel 19:30 , Mephibosheth says, "Oh, let him take it all, since my lord the king has come safely home." Did you get that? We ought to be willing to give our all back to the Lord who has given so much to us.

I HEAR THE SAVIOR SAY, "THY STRENGTH INDEED IS SMALL! CHILD OF WEAKNESS, WATCH AND PRAY. FIND IN MY THINE ALL IN ALL." JESUS PAID IT ALL, ALL TO HIM I OWE SIN HAD LEFT A CRIMSON STAIN — HE WASHED IT WHITE AS SNOW.

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Timothy Burt

Daily devotionals and inspiration to encourage your heart, “i caught it” a story of god’s grace.

Fresh Manna by Pastor Tim Burt

One morning, at my discipleship breakfast, one of the guys in my group told us a great story about an encounter with his young son. As I listened to this story, God spoke to my heart and believe He will speak to yours also. I thought I would share it with you!

The look on Logan’s face told the story when he saw the ball in his glove. I caught it!  I caught it dad! Suddenly Logan took off into the house. Mom! Mom! he yelled searching for his mother. When he found her he said, I am playing catch with dad and I CAUGHT THE BALL! They high-fived each other and Logan ripped back outside to catch another. His dad was waiting and again with great precision, laced another one right into the center of Logan’s glove. Logan beamed and Lee enjoyed the joy of his son experiencing his great new accomplishment.

When Lee told me this story, I couldn’t help but think about all the times the Lord helps us with something in our life as Lee helped his son Logan. The Lord leads us to do something and then helps us accomplish it. It was really all God’s doing but we are quick to run off and tell someone how great our accomplishment was. He helps us because He loves us AND because He does not want us to get so discouraged that we give up and quit. And yet when He puts the ball in the center of our glove, we want to take credit for how great we are. We are funny that way.

Jesus really cut to the chase on this matter when He said in John 15:5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. FOR APART FROM ME, YOU CAN DO NOTHING.” 

Like Logan, we receive our Heavenly Father’s help. He will help us do things that make us feel proud. It will feel good and it will make us want to tell someone. But let’s always give God the glory for His love and grace that puts the ball in the center of our glove .

2 Corinthians 1:12 (NLT) “… We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom…”

In His love, Pastor Tim Burt

If Fresh Manna is a blessing to you, I’d love to know. Click here: FreshMannaFeedback

How Your Donations Are Used? click here   Published by Pastor Tim Burt Copyright© 2021 All rights reserved http:// TimBurt.org

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One thought on “ “I Caught It!” A Story of God’s Grace ”

Thank you for the message, it has generously opened my eyes to see how God have been throwing the ball into my gloves and I had thought I was a good catch. I return all the glory to God.

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The Goodness of God and Common Grace

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Common grace, as an expression of the goodness of God, is every favor, falling short of salvation, which this undeserving and sin-cursed world enjoys at the hand of God; this includes the delay of wrath, the mitigation of our sin-natures, natural events that lead to prosperity, and all gifts that human use and enjoy naturally.

While humanity is totally depraved and deserving of God’s wrath, God mercifully postpones his destroying wrath and graciously blesses all men, even apart from salvation. This is called God’s common grace. Common grace includes all undeserved blessings that natural man receives from the hand of God: rain, sun, prosperity, health, happiness, natural capacities and gifts, sin being restrained from complete dominion, etc. The doctrine of common grace explains how a man can be totally depraved and yet still commit acts that are, in some sense, “good.” This common grace, however, falls short of salvific grace; all humans still need the saving work of the Spirit to reconcile them to God.

We should acknowledge from the outset that the adjective “common” does not appear in the Bible as a modifier of the noun “grace.” But we are justified in making use of it in view of how God’s dealings with non-Christian people is portrayed for us in Scripture. Our task will be to determine in what sense, if any at all, the grace of God is given to or is operative in the lives of those who persist throughout life in unbelief and rebellion against God. (For a discussion of common “goodness” or “love” vs. common “grace,” see John Frame, The Doctrine of God , 429–30.)

There can be no escaping the fact that the biblical portrait of humanity’s condition apart from God’s saving grace is beyond bleak; it is hopeless. The apostle Paul draws upon several OT texts to describe the plight of the human race apart from Christ:

None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one (Rom. 3:10–12).

Theologians refer to this as the truth of total depravity. The latter term does not mean that every person is as bad as he/she could possibly be. It simply means that moral depravity and willful spiritual darkness pervade and touch the totality of their being: mind, heart, soul, spirit, body, affections, and will. Some who misunderstand what is meant by “total depravity” find it difficult to embrace for the simple reason that it conflicts with what they see in the world and what they experience in their relationships with other people. There are quite a few extremely evil people in society. However, most of us have close friends and relatives who are not Christians but who are, what we would feel justified in calling, “good” people. They are honest, civil, generous, loving, and show little if any sign of being “totally depraved.” We enjoy their presence and would vouch for their character.

It is this tension that leads John Murray to ask a series of very insistent questions:

How is it that men who still lie under the wrath and curse of God and are heirs of hell enjoy so many good gifts at the hand of God? How is it that men who are not savingly renewed by the Spirit of God nevertheless exhibit so many qualities, gifts and accomplishments that promote the preservation, temporal happiness, cultural progress, social and economic improvement of themselves and of others? How is it that races and peoples that have been apparently untouched by the redemptive and regenerative influences of the gospel contribute so much to what we call human civilization? To put the question most comprehensively: how is it that this sin-cursed world enjoys so much favour and kindness at the hand of its holy and ever-blessed Creator? (“Common Grace,” in the Collected Writings of John Murray , II:93)

The answer to Murray’s question is found in a distinction the Bible draws between what we refer to as God’s special or saving grace, on the one hand, and his common, non-saving grace, on the other. God’s goodness extends to all of his creation, both material and human. But that goodness does not always have as its intended goal the redemption or salvation of those on whom it is showered. We here speak, then, of God’s “common” grace, a grace or expression of divine goodness and favor that is universal, hence common. All mankind are the recipients of this outpouring of God’s grace, but not all experience it in the same degree or in the same manner. Our use of the term “common,” as Gregg Allison points out, “does not mean ‘in the same measure for all’ but ‘universal,’ extended to everyone. Neither does it mean ‘mundane,’ though common grace is often taken for granted and detached from its source, who is God. It is anything but dull and ordinary, as seen in bountiful fields, medical advancements, artistic genius, loving families, global initiatives against human trafficking, and much more” ( 50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith: A Guide to Understanding and Teaching Theology , 206).

Consider, for example, the common grace of God as seen in Genesis 39:5 where God is said to have “blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake.” At Lystra, Paul declares that God “did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17). Jesus himself said that God “makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust” (Matt. 5:45). The Father is described as being “kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (Luke 6:35; see also Luke 16:25).

Defining Common Grace

Charles Hodge, 19 th century Reformed theologian, believed that,

the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth, of holiness, and of life in all its forms, is present with every human mind, enforcing truth, restraining from evil, exciting to good, and imparting wisdom or strength, when, where, and in what measure seemeth to Him good … This is what in theology is called common grace (see Systematic Theology , II:667).

Abraham Kuyper defines common grace as

that act of God by which negatively He curbs the operations of Satan, death, and sin, and by which positively He creates an intermediate state for this cosmos, as well as for our human race, which is and continues to be deeply and radically sinful, but in which sin cannot work out its end (see Principles of Sacred Theology , 279 ).

A somewhat shorter and more helpful definition of common grace is given by Murray. Common grace, he writes, “is every favour of whatever kind or degree, falling short of salvation, which this undeserving and sin-cursed world enjoys at the hand of God” (“Common Grace,” II:96). We are now ready to identify the varied manifestations of common grace in our world.

Common Grace and the Restraint of Sin

The goodness of God as seen in common grace is first found in the way it exerts a restraining influence on the expression of human depravity or sin. This preventative operation of God’s goodness is not comprehensive, or no sin at all would ever exist. Neither is it uniform, for if it were all men and women would be equally evil or equally good. What we mean, then, is that the manifestation and effects of man’s moral depravity is not permitted to reach the maximum of which it is capable. The simple empirical fact is that if this were not the case, life on earth would be virtually impossible. There are several areas where the notion of common grace as restraint is operative. John Murray again explains God’s restraint on the personal sins of individual men and women:

God places restraint upon the workings of human depravity and thus prevents the unholy affections and principles of men from manifesting all the potentialities inherent in them. He prevents depravity from bursting forth in all its vehemence and violence (“Common Grace,” II:98).

The “mark” that God placed on Cain, “lest any who found him should attack him” (Gen. 4:15) is one example. God told Abimelech, king of Gerar, that “it was I who kept you from sinning” when the king considered having sexual relations with Sarah, Abraham’s wife (Gen. 20:6; see also 2 Kgs. 19:27–28). The apostle Paul refers to the one “who now restrains” the revelation of the lawless one (2 Thess. 2:7). In each of these cases, God (most likely the Holy Spirit) exerts a preventative influence on what would otherwise be acts of evil.

Thus, one of the purposes of the Spirit’s activity in our world is to impede or inhibit or curb the outward expression of the inward propensities of the sinful heart. Were he not to do so, were he completely to lift or withdraw or suspend this particular activity, our society would eventually be uninhabitable. The wickedness of mankind would engulf the world and bring it to the verge of utter chaos and corruption.

This work of the Spirit in restraining human sin is called “grace” because no one deserves it. That God inhibits their sin is an expression of mercy to those who deserve judgment. It is called “common” because it is universal. Both saved and unsaved, regenerate and unregenerate, are the recipients of this divine favor. It is not restricted to any one group of people and it does not necessarily lead to salvation.

Common Grace and the Delay of Judgment

Another expression of common grace is God’s merciful determination to suspend the immediate manifestation of his wrath and judgment warranted by human sin. Paul puts this truth in the form of a question in Romans 2:4: “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance” (cf. Gen. 6:3; Acts 17:30; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 3:9)? In similar fashion, God exerts a restraining influence on the destructive tendencies in the natural creation.

What this means is that in addition to placing restraint upon the ungodly tendencies of the human heart, God freely suspends the immediate manifestation of his holy wrath that is warranted by sin. God’s goodness or kindness in common grace means that he not only restrains the sin of man but also the ready execution of the full measure of judgment which sin demands.

Common Grace and the Natural Creation

In goodness and as an expression of his kindness toward the material creation, God also holds in check the destructive tendencies that are part of the curse of sin upon nature. John Murray elaborates:

Sin introduces disintegration and disorganization in every realm. While it is true that only in the sphere of rationality does sin have meaning – it originates in mind, it develops in mind, it resides in mind – yet sin works out disastrous effects outside the sphere of the rational and moral as well as within it. God places restraint upon these effects, he prevents the full development of this disintegration. He brings to bear upon this world in all its spheres correcting and preserving influences so that the ravages of sin might not be allowed to work out the full measure of their destructive power (“Common Grace,” II:101).

Paul speaks of this in Romans 8 where he describes the creation waiting “with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God” (Rom. 8:19). The material creation, what we refer to as nature , “was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Rom. 8:20–21). Peter describes the day when “the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (2 Pet. 3:11). This judgment is temporarily suspended until such time as God will create a “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:13). One explanation for why this sin-cursed earth is not instantly destroyed is God’s common grace in restraining, until the appointed time, his final and inevitable judgment.

Common Grace and the Blessings Earth Receives

Another aspect of common grace is more positive in thrust. God not only restrains the sinful operations and effects of the human heart, he also bestows upon both nature and humanity manifold blessings both physical and spiritual. These blessings, however, fall short of redemption itself. We read in several places where the grace of God results in blessings on the material world:

You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy (Ps. 65:9–13; see also Pss. 104:10-30; 145:1–16; and 136:25).

Common Grace, the Gifts God Gives to Men, and the “Good” They Perform

Murray is again helpful in bringing our attention to the way in which God endows men and women with gifts, talents, and opportunities they don’t deserve. He grants them,

gifts, talents, and aptitudes; he stimulates them with interest and purpose to the practice of virtues, the pursuance of worthy tasks, and the cultivation of arts and sciences that occupy the time, activity and energy of men and that make for the benefit and civilization of the human race. He ordains institutions for the protection and promotion of right, the preservation of liberty, the advance of knowledge and the improvement of physical and moral conditions. We may regard these interests, pursuits and institutions as exercising both an expulsive and impulsive influence. Occupying the energy, activity and time of men they prevent the indulgence of less noble and ignoble pursuits and they exercise an ameliorating, moralizing, stabilizing and civilizing influence upon the social organism (“Common Grace,” II:102–03).

We read about this expression of common grace in Genesis 39:5, Acts 14:16–17, Matthew 5:44–45, Luke 6:35–36, and 16:25. This is why we may speak of people who are totally depraved doing deeds and supplying services that are deemed “good” (see 2 Kgs. 10:30; 12:2; Matt. 5:46; Luke 6:33; Rom. 2:14–15). However, Murray reminds us that “the good attributed to unregenerate men is after all only relative good. It is not good in the sense of meeting in motivation, principle and aim the requirements of God’s law and the demands of his holiness” (“Common Grace,” II:107). Therefore, such deeds cannot in any way commend them to the righteous standards and demands of the Father. We must never lose sight of the fact that all such operations of “grace” (so-called because undeserved) are non-saving, being neither in design nor effect such as would produce new life in Christ.

Further Reading

• Gregg R. Allison, 50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith: A Guide to Understanding and Teaching Theology , 203-210
• John M. Frame, The Doctrine of God , 429-437
• John Murray, “Common Grace,” in the Collected Writings of John Murray , II:93-11
• Wayne Grudem, “Common Grace,” in Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine

This essay is part of the Concise Theology series. All views expressed in this essay are those of the author. This essay is freely available under Creative Commons License with Attribution-ShareAlike, allowing users to share it in other mediums/formats and adapt/translate the content as long as an attribution link, indication of changes, and the same Creative Commons License applies to that material.

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The Apostle Paul: An Example of God’s Grace in Action

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Of the many individuals mentioned in the Bible, Paul is certainly one of the most intriguing. He committed his life to serving God early on and studied under one of the most famous rabbis of the day, Gamaliel—a teacher whose reputation was such that other rabbis and scholars would quote him for centuries. This was no small accomplishment, because a rabbi of that stature would accept only the best and brightest students as his disciples.

As a young man everything was going well for Paul. As he put it, “I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers” (Galatians 1:14). He was well on his way to becoming a famous rabbi himself, “taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and . . . zealous toward God” (Acts 22:3).

Misdirected zeal with dire consequences

But zeal, as history and the Bible show, is not always a good thing.

Zeal can be either good or very destructive, depending on the cause for which one is zealous. In Paul’s case, his misguided zeal in support of the religion of his people led him to horrible acts, including murder of Christians. Let’s read it in his own words:

“I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it” (Galatians 1:13).

“I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women . . . and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished” (Acts 22:4-5).

“Many of the saints [or Christian believers] I shut up in prison . . . and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities” (Acts 26:10-11).

By no stretch of the imagination was Paul, at that time known by his Hebrew name of Saul, a nice person. He was a vengeful and violent man who persecuted and killed those with whom he disagreed—in this case Christians, both men and women. Due to his actions, wives were left widows. Husbands lost their wives. Children were orphaned. Families lost their homes and businesses. Some became fugitives, fleeing for their lives. The first time Paul is mentioned in the Bible, the martyr Stephen was brutally stoned to death by an enraged mob while Paul stood by “consenting to his death” (Acts 7:58-8:1).

When he next appears, he is “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,” seeking authorization to travel to Damascus to arrest any Christians he might find there to “bring them bound to Jerusalem” for trial and possible execution (Acts 9:1-2).

A divine encounter on the road to Damascus

But Paul experienced God’s grace in a powerful and life-transforming way. While traveling to Damascus to carry out this mission, he was suddenly struck down and temporarily blinded. As he groveled in the dirt of the roadway, a voice said to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

Stunned, he replied, “Who are You, Lord?”

The shocking response was, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting . . . Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (Acts 9:4-6).

Paul was then baptized. Empowered by God’s Spirit, “immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20). Later he would spend three years being personally taught by Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:11-12; Galatians 1:17-18).

Paul grew spiritually to become a deeply converted man. The zeal he had once directed at exterminating the Church of God was now directed toward building it.

His efforts did not come without a steep personal price: “From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; [I have been] in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness . . .” (2 Corinthians 11:24-28).

How often during such times was Paul haunted by the faces of innocent men and women he had rounded up, torn from their families and sent to prison or to their deaths? We don’t know, but we do know that Paul knew he was a “wretched man” deserving of death (Romans 7:24).

He wrote to his dear friend and disciple Timothy that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners— of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:15, NIV).

A grateful teacher of grace

He also told Timothy: “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 13-14, NIV).

Paul came to thoroughly understand the workings of and marvelous gift that is grace. After repenting of his previous misdeeds, he was used in a powerful way. He knew that God could and would forgive even the seemingly unforgivable. Thus he wrote, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1).

Paul fully understood that Jesus had given His life as a sacrificial offering for our sins and that, despite what Paul had done, he was no longer condemned. For Paul, God’s grace had conquered sin and death (Romans 3:24-26). Having been saved by grace, he now lived by grace, dedicating his life to “the gospel [good news] of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).

It’s no wonder, then, that Paul wrote so much about God’s grace and goodness. He was a living and profound example of God’s grace in action! As he wrote further in 1 Timothy 1:16 (NLT): “But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.”

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Understanding The Grace Of God

By: Author Michael Bradley

Posted on Last updated: August 31, 2023

As Christians, one of the most important things we need to fully understand is the grace of God.

As you will see in the Scripture verses I will list below, there are two main definitions as to what the grace of God is all about. The best way to look at this revelation is to look at it like you are looking at a two-sided coin.

On the one side of the coin the grace of God is the “unmerited favor and mercy” of God. This is the grace that we are saved by with the Lord.

As you will see in the first verse I will list below, we are saved by “grace” through our faith in Jesus Christ.

The second definition of the word grace, which will be the other side of this same coin, is that the grace of God is referring to the divine life, power, and ability of God flowing and operating through us.

This second aspect of God’s grace is the kind of grace we will need to properly function and operate in whatever He is going to call us to do for Him in this life.

This same kind of divine power is also needed in our sanctification in the Lord, along with being needed to help us overcome different types of sins and temptations. In order that you can have this revelation of grace as a two-sided coin, here are the two sides of grace and exactly what is in each of these two sides:

• The unmerited favor, mercy, compassion, acceptance, kindness, graciousness, goodwill, and divine assistance of God.
• The divine life, power, and ability of God flowing and operating through us in order to give us the supernatural power and ability for ministry and sanctification

Here is how grace is specifically defined by some of the different Bible Dictionaries:

• Unmerited favor, mercy, compassion
• Undeserved blessing, a free gift
• Gods loving mercy toward mankind
• Favor, graciousness, kindness, beauty, pleasantness
• God’s disposition to exercise goodwill toward His creatures
• Synonymous with the gospel of God’s gift of unmerited salvation in Jesus Christ
• Favor or kindness shown without regard to the worth or merit of the one who receives it and in spite of what that same person deserves
• Undeserved acceptance and love received from another, especially the characteristic attitude of God in providing salvation to sinners
• The gift of God as expressed in His actions of extending mercy, loving-kindness and salvation to people
• Unmerited divine assistance given man for his regeneration or sanctification
• The power and equipment for ministry

I will break these Scripture verses down under 11 different captions so that you can fully grasp and understand what God is trying to reveal to us in these incredibly profound verses.

These Scripture verses are giving you a major key in being able to understand the basics of your eternal salvation in the Lord, along with showing you how God can impart His divine power through you so as to enable you to live a victorious and overcoming life in Him.

This is basic 101 information and knowledge that all Christians should have a firm and solid grasp on so that you cannot only have it for your own personal storehouse of knowledge in the Lord, but so you can also have it to be able to teach and educate other Christians who do not have a full understanding of this revelation from the Lord. Study these verses very carefully and meditate on the revelation that God is trying to reveal to us.

If you can fully grasp what the Lord is trying to show us in these major power verses, you will then walk away with a full understanding of the basics of your own personal salvation in the Lord – along with having the knowledge on how to get God to release more of His grace into your life so that you can then learn how to live this life as a good and mighty soldier of Jesus Christ.

I have broken the rest of this article into 11 different sections.

We Are Saved by “Grace” Through Faith in Jesus Christ

These first 16 verses all have to do with our own personal salvation in the Lord. Each one of these are major power verses and they all have to do with the first definition of grace – which is that grace is the unmerited favor and mercy of God towards mankind.

In these verses are complete and full revelation on exactly what our eternal salvation in the Lord is really all about. If you can grasp what the Lord is trying to tell you in these specific verses, you will then be able to walk away with a much better and clearer understanding as to who you really are in your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and exactly how you were saved in the first place.

I will go ahead and run all of these verses together, and then point out key words and phrases in these verses so you can see exactly what God is trying to show you.

“ For by grace you have been saved through faith , and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone boast.” (Ephesians 2:8) “… who 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.” (2 Timothy 1:9) “ And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work .” (Romans 11:6) “Therefore, having been justified by faith , we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2) “ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men …” (Titus 2:11) “ But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they .” (Acts 15:11) “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) , and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7) “… that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:7) “… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God , being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus …” (Romans 3:23-24) “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ .” (John 1:17) “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace …” (2 Thessalonians 2:16) “ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence …” (Ephesians 1:7-8) “For if by the one man’s offense, many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many .” (Romans 5:15) “… having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved .” (Ephesians 1:6) “ But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord .” (Romans 5:20) “ I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain .” (Galatians 2:21)

The first thing to pick up from these verses is that our personal salvation in the Lord is not earned by any type of good works that we can do in this life – no matter how many good works we may end up doing, and no matter how good and holy those works may end up being. The quantity and quality of our works for the Lord do not matter to Him.

The very first verse listed above is the absolute number one power verse on exactly how we are to receive eternal salvation from the Lord. This verse specifically tells us, without any other possible spin or interpretation you can possibly put on it, that our individual personal salvation in the Lord can only be received by “grace” through our personal faith in Jesus Christ.

This first verse, and the two that follow right after it, specifically state that our eternal salvation is simply received by grace through faith – not by any type of works. The first verse tells us that our eternal salvation is a direct, free gift from God and “not of works.” The second verse once again says that God has saved us through His grace and not “according to our works.”

The third verse then really hammers this point home when it literally shouts out that we cannot be saved by both grace and works. It says if we are saved by grace, then works has no part in our salvation whatsoever. You cannot have this revelation both ways. If we are saved by grace, which we are, then works has absolute no part in our personal salvation with the Lord. It’s all Him and none of us. The first verse says that being saved by grace through our faith in Jesus all comes direct from God and that it is “not from ourselves.”

As simple as this revelation is to fully grasp and understand, there are still some Christians who are walking around thinking that they still have to try and earn their way into heaven by doing as many good and holy works as they possibly can.

As a result, they spend most of their life in misery and torment as they never know for sure if they will make it into heaven after they die and cross over. These first set of verses are absolute top priority for any newborn who has just been saved or any unbeliever you may be witnessing to.

I am going to highlight some of the key phrases in the above verses so you can see how the Lord is really trying to drive home the point that we can only be saved by and through His grace.

• For by grace you have been saved through faith
• Who has saved us … according to His own purpose and grace
• We have access by faith into this grace
• For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men
• Through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved
• By grace you have been saved
• Having been justified by His grace
• Being justified freely by His grace
• Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ
• Given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace
• In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

Notice in every single one of these key phrases the word “grace” is specifically being used in reference to our own personal salvation in the Lord.

With the basic definition of the word “grace” being “unmerited favor,” there can be no question that our own personal salvation in the Lord can only be received by God’s grace through our faith in His Son Jesus.

No amount of works, no matter how good and holy we think those works may be, will ever be good enough to get us back in the good graces of our Lord and Savior.

Ritualism, legalism, and works are out the door!

They have no place in our personal salvation with the Lord – and they have absolutely no place when working with an unsaved person in an effort to try and get them saved. God has made accepting His free gift of eternal salvation through His Son Jesus Christ as easy as He possibly could.

These Scripture verses are as clear as they can possibly be on this issue.

Grace is the Power and Ability of God Operating Through Us

As you will see in these next set of Scripture verses, the grace of God is also 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.

In other words, 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.

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.

When Jesus Christ Himself relied on the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish everything that He accomplished down here on this earth – and the apostle Paul gives all of the credit for his success in the Lord to the grace and power of God operating through him – then you know we are dealing with a major, profound, divine truth from the Lord.

Bottom line – we need God’s divine grace and power flowing and operating through us if we are going to become everything that He is calling us to become in Him in this life.

Not by our might, but only by the power of His Holy Spirit operating through us can we ever hope to fulfill the divine plan and call that God has on each one of our lives.

Burn these next set of verses into your memory banks if you really want to step from the dugout out onto the real playing field where God has a great adventure and great story for your life if you are willing to yield to it.

Be willing to be led by the Holy Spirit and be willing to work with the divine power that God can transmit through you.

As you will see in these next set of Scripture verses, 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!

• “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)

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.

Notice in the second verse 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.

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.

The last two 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 Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Grace

If the second definition of grace is that it is referring to the power and ability of God flowing and operating through us, these next two verses are now going to add something very interesting to all of this.

The power of God flowing through you is really the “anointing” of God. The anointing of God is the presence and power of God flowing and operating through you to accomplish whatever the Lord wants you to accomplish for Him.

However, when you cut a little further into the anointing, what it really is – is the power of the Holy Spirit Himself operating through you.

The Bible tells us that Jesus was operating under the anointing of God when He embarked on His three and a half year miracle ministry before He went to the cross to die for all of our sins. But then a little further on in the Bible it tells us that Jesus was performing all of his miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit Himself.

The anointing of God is really the presence and power of the Holy Spirit Himself flowing and operating through you .

Now here is what these next two verses are going to give us. If the second definition of the word grace is referring to the power of God operating through us – and the power of God is really the power of the Holy Spirit Himself operating through us – is it possible that the Holy Spirit Himself may then be the Spirit of God’s grace? I believe the answer is yes and these next two verses will prove that point to you.

Both of these verses specifically state the Holy Spirit Himself is the “Spirit of grace.” In other words, the Holy Spirit may just literally be the grace of God Himself. If God’s grace is God’s power flowing and operating through us – and the power of God is really the power of the Holy Spirit Himself flowing through us – then it makes perfect, logical sense that the Holy Spirit Himself would then be considered to be the Spirit of the grace of God.

Here are the two verses giving us this specific piece of revelation:

“Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace ?” (Hebrews 10:29) “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10)

When the Bible says that the Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of Grace” in these two verses, the “S” in the word “Spirit” is with a capital “S,” not with a small “s” – which means it is referring direct to the Holy Spirit Himself.

Put all of this together like pieces to a jigsaw puzzle, and I believe that the Bible may be giving us an incredible revelation in that the Holy Spirit Himself may be the actual grace of God. As such, all Christians actually have the grace of God already residing on the inside of them since we all have the Holy Spirit literally living on the inside of us.

The Grace of God Was Upon Jesus Christ

If you want two great, perfect role models on who had properly walked with the grace of God upon their lives, and who had successfully accomplished all of their earthly missions that God wanted them to accomplish as a result of that divine grace, look no further than the apostle Paul and Jesus Christ Himself.

These first two verses will be on Jesus. These two verses specifically tell us that the grace of God was “upon” Jesus and that He was “full” of this grace. In other words, the power and favor of God was upon Jesus while He was walking down here on our earth in the flesh. Jesus performed all of His supernatural miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit operating through Him. He did not perform these miracles by His own divine power.

Just as Jesus had His Father’s divine grace upon Him to help Him carry out His earthly ministry, so too can we have the same type of divine grace of God upon us and our lives in order to help us carry out and complete all of our divine assignments for Him.

“And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him .” (Luke 2:40) “And the Word became 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 1:14)

Now if God the Father was willing to have His grace rest upon His Son Jesus so that He could successfully carry out all of His earthly mission, will God the Father do the same thing for each born-again believer?

I believe He will, and the next article will prove that to you – as it will show you that the apostle Paul ended up becoming one of the greatest, if not the greatest of all the New Testament apostles as a direct result of the divine grace that was given to him by God the Father.

The Grace of God Was Upon the Apostle Paul

If God is no respecter of persons and He was willing to release and impart His divine grace upon the apostle Paul so that Paul could successfully carry out all of his divine assignments for Him – then I believe that God will do the exact same thing for each born-again believer who will fully surrender their lives over to Him.

If you really want to see how far God can actually take you in this life to become everything that He is calling you to become in Him – study these next 5 verses very, very carefully, as they are giving you a major, powerful, spiritual secret.

If the apostle Paul can have the grace and power of God flowing and operating through him, then so can you if you are willing to work in cooperation and in union with the Lord.

Here are 6 major power verses showing you what God can do through an anointed believer, and how far He can really take you in this supernatural realm if you are willing to yield to it and work with Him on it.

“ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me .” (1 Corinthians 15:10) “… of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ …” (Ephesians 3:7-8) “Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God …” (Romans 15:15-16) “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles …” (Galatians 1:15) “For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God , and more abundantly toward you.” (2 Corinthians 1:12) “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

The first verse perfectly sets the stage as to what had happened between God and Paul. Paul makes one of the most classic statements ever made on the power of God’s grace operating through a believer when he says that it is “by the grace of God I am what I am.”

Paul grasped a very powerful, spiritual secret and truth when he came to the full realization and the full conclusion that all of the successes in his life were as a direct result of the grace of God that was upon him and his life. It was by the divine power of God flowing and operating through him that caused him to probably become the greatest of all of the New Testament apostles.

Paul continues to hammer home this point in the additional verses listed above. Notice in the second verse he says that he first became a minister of the gospel as a result of the “gift of the grace of God” that was given to him. In the third verse he once more makes the direct statement that he became a minister of Jesus Christ “because of the grace” that was given to him.

In the second last verse he sums it all up very nicely when he says that it was not with “fleshly wisdom” that he was able to walk and work with the Lord so successfully – it was “by the grace of God” that was upon him that he was able to walk and work so successfully for the Lord.

Paul knew that he did not have the natural abilities within his own mental and emotional makeup to be taking on these kinds of extraordinarily, heavy, divine assignments from the Lord. As I pointed out in my article titled, “ Trials and Tribulations – The Testing of Your Faith ,” this man literally had to go through hell and high water to accomplish everything that the Lord wanted him to accomplish in this life.

In that article, I gave you a list of all of the troubles and hardships that he had to personally face and endure as God launched him off to preach the gospel and write the epistles he ended up writing.

This man knew, and had grasped very early on, that the only way he was going to make it through all of these trying ordeals was to completely rely on God and His supernatural power to see him through all of it.

And just as Paul needed to completely rely on God and His divine power and grace to fully accomplish all of his divine assignments for the Lord, so too must we learn to do the exact same thing.

Paul is without question, one of the greatest role-models and heroes of the faith from our Bible.

The reason he was able to become so successful in his own personal walk with the Lord is that he found out very early on the spiritual secrets that he was going to need with the Lord – and the first and most powerful secret and truth he found was learning how to walk in the grace of God for his life.

As a result of all of the trials and tribulations he had to personally go through to make it to his own finish line in the Lord – he once again makes a very intense and powerful statement. The last verse above has to do with the thorn in his flesh that the Lord would not take away from him.

Once he realized that God was not going to take this thorn out of him in order to keep him humble with what had been given to him – he ends this incredible verse by stating that he would rather boast all day long in all of his infirmities, persecutions, and distresses – because he came to the revelation that when he would become weak by going through all of these adversities, then he would actually become stronger as a result of relying on God’s power and grace to actually see him through all of it.

God Himself tells Paul right at the beginning of this verse that His grace is going to be more than sufficient for him to weather this particular adversity.

And if God’s grace was going to be more than sufficient for him to weather this particular adversity, then that same grace would be more than enough to get him through the rest of the storm clouds that he would have to eventually face later on.

The lesson to be learned from all of this is that no matter how rough and hard your life may get from time to time – realize that God’s grace and power resting upon you and flowing through you will be more than enough for you to be able to take on the storm clouds of this life and eventually make it through these storm clouds in one piece and gain eventual victory – just like He did with the apostle Paul. If God is no respecter of persons, then what He did for Paul He will do for you if you will just fully trust Him to do it for you!

Let Your Speech Always Be With Grace

In this next caption, I am going to give you three very interesting verses all having the word “grace” in them. The first two verses have to do with how you speak and verbally express yourselves to others. The last verse has to do with both your words and your actions in dealing with other people, especially to other people who are not yet saved.

“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” (Colossians 4:6) “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” (Ephesians 4:29) “Pursue peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled …” (Hebrews 12:14-15)

The first verse is telling us that our speech to others has to be “with grace.” If you look at the basic definitions of grace at the top of this article again, one of the definitions that it is referring to is “favor, graciousness, kindness, beauty, and pleasantness.”

In the Sanctification Section of our site, we have an article titled, “ Death and Life Are in the Power of the Tongue .” In this article, I give you some of the main verses from the Bible that will show us that we all carry the power of life and death in our tongues.

We can either choose to release good, positive, and edifying types of words to people to help build them up as to who they really are in Christ, or we can choose to release negative words of coldness, harshness, condemnation, and pessimism.

When the Lord is telling us that He wants our speech to others to be done with grace, I believe He wants us to speak to others in a loving, kind, gracious, uplifting, and edifying manner – not in a condescending, critical, and judgmental manner. If we do, then the next verse tells us what will happen next. It tells us that we will then be able to impart “grace” to the hearer of our words.

The word “grace” in this verse is referring to what I believe is “power.” In other words, if you can learn how to speak out words of encouragement and edification to other people, you will then help to impart a certain amount of power into them and their lives.

Once you speak out godly and positive type words of encouragement and edification to another person, you will then help increase their levels of confidence and self-esteem.

And once you increase their levels of self-esteem and self-confidence in the Lord, then you will be imparting a certain amount of power and grace into their lives as a result of that increased confidence in themselves and in the Lord.

People need to be built up as to who they really are in their Lord and Savior – not torn and broken down like what you see in so many dysfunctional marriages and families throughout the world with some of the verbal and physical abuse that keeps going on behind closed doors.

The last verse then tells us that we have to pursue peace and holiness with all men – and if we do not, then a certain amount of unsaved sinners may end up falling short of the grace of God because we were not making the best witness and representative to them for our Lord.

What draws many unsaved people to the Lord are the godly and saintly attributes operating through our personalities.

If we are not making the best witness to these people either by our actions or by our words, then many of them may never come to the Lord because of our hypocritical behavior, and as a result, some of them may end up falling short of the grace of God just like this verse is telling us. In other words, they will never get saved in this life – all possibly because we were not making the best witness to them.

This is why it is so vital that we all learn to how to be actual “doers” of the Word of God, and learn how to speak and express ourselves to other people in a godly, civil, loving, caring, and uplifting manner.

Lives are hanging in the balance – and how we act and behave towards others in this life may make the difference as to whether or not a certain number of them ever accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

Do Not Abuse the Grace of God

With the first definition of grace having to do with the unmerited favor and mercy of God toward us, and that this is the grace that we are actually saved by with our Lord – what will happen next with some Christians is that they will then try to start to take advantage of this grace. In other words, they will start to try and abuse it.

Once you realize that all of your past, present, and future sins will be fully forgiven under the blood that Jesus has already shed for you, it becomes very easy to want to get lazy and then be tempted to want to push the envelope with God the Father to see exactly what you can get away with and how far you can push certain things with Him.

The apostle Paul was way ahead of this possibility with the statement that he makes in these next two verses.

Here is the very solemn warning that Paul is giving us if we think we can go back to our old sinning ways again after we have been saved.

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Romans 6:1-2) “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!” (Romans 6:14-15)

Notice in the first verse Paul is telling us that though we have been saved by God’s grace – this does not mean we can go back to our sinning ways again. Paul is flat out telling us that we cannot use the grace of God that we have just been saved with as an excuse and a license to keep on sinning.

He tells us that we have now “died to sin” and thus should no longer live and wallow in it. God’s grace is not an open invitation to keep on sinning.

This second verse then tells us that God’s grace has now set us free from sin and the power it use to have over us. This verse is specifically telling us that “sin shall not have dominion over you” and that we cannot go back to sinning again just because we have now been saved by God’s grace.

When Paul tells us that sin shall no longer have “dominion” over us, what he is trying to tell us is that God’s grace and power can now help us overcome the desire to want to sin, and if by chance we do fall into a heavier sin area, then God’s grace and power can help pull us out of it and help set us free from its death grip.

No matter what kind of heavy sin area you may have fallen into – whether it be to a highly addictive drug, alcohol, or some type of criminal or aberrant behavior – God’s supernatural power can deliver you and set you completely free from the sin if you are willing to take God’s hand and work with Him during the deliverance process.

There is absolutely nothing that the power and grace of God cannot set you completely free from if you are willing to work with Him on it.

The laws of God give us the knowledge of what is sinful and what is not. However, the laws and commandments of God do not have the ability to save us from our sins, nor do the laws of God give us the power and ability to actually overcome any of our sins.

It is only the grace of God that will save us and set us free from our sins – and it is only the grace of God that will give us the power and the ability to be able to stay out of sin after we have been saved since we now have the Holy Spirit and His power living and operating on the inside of us.

As a result, no Christian will have any excuse on their day of judgment with the Lord if they have refused to pull out of some of these heavier sin areas before they die and cross over. God’s grace is available to every single believer. Jesus has already broken off the power that sin has over our lives at the cross. We all now have the power of the Holy Spirit Himself to take on any heavy sin area that we may have fallen into.

Stay Humble With the Grace That God Will Give You

Once you enter into a full surrender with the Lord and are really walking with His divine grace and power operating in your life, one of the things that you will really have to watch out for is the temptation to fall into the pride trap. It will become very easy to have all of this kind of divine power start to go to your head and puff you up.

For those of you who are already walking with the anointing of God in your own personal lives, and for those of you who would really like to enter into this supernatural realm with the Lord – I would highly recommend that you read our article “Pride Will Come Before the Fall” in the Sanctification Section of our site.

I simply cannot stress enough the importance that each and every Christian stay humble in their own personal walks with the Lord. Nothing will destroy your personal relationship with God, the anointing that God can flow through you, and the ministry that God wants to give you than letting all of this divine power go straight to your head.

The spirit of pride literally took out one-third of the entire angelic host from the heaven where God and Jesus dwell in – and it can also personally destroy you and your entire walk with the Lord if you let it get worked too far up into your mind and heart. In the article we have on this deadly sin and enemy, we give you all of the main verses from Scripture that deal with this topic.

As you will see in this next verse I will now give you, God says that He will give grace to the “humble,” but that He will “resist” those who are “proud.”

“But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)

I believe this verse is telling us that God will withhold His grace from anyone who has become too proud in his mind and in his heart. God will not allow His power and grace to be abused, to be tampered with, or to be used for one’s own glory or one’s own selfish purposes.

Stay humble and accountable in your personal walk with the Lord – and He will then continue to give you His grace and power so that you can then reach the finish line that He has set up for you to reach, and accomplish everything that He wants you to accomplish for Him in this life.

Do Not Receive the Grace of God in Vain

In addition to making sure that you do not let the spirit of pride get a foothold into your mind and in your thinking in reference to the grace that God can give you – these next two verses will now give us another major revelation that we really have to watch out for. These next two verses are telling us that we should not “receive the grace of God in vain.”

According to some of the different Bible Dictionaries, the word “vain” is defined as:

Useless, conceited, empty, to-no-end, nothingness, unreliability, worthless, idle, hollow, fruitless, futile, unprofitable

Once you really start to enter into a full-surrendered, power walk with the Lord where His divine power and grace is flowing through you mightily to accomplish everything that He is wanting you to accomplish for Him in this life, one of the other traps that you really have to watch out for is to make sure that you do not ever start to take His grace for granted or end up letting it be received in vain.

Here are the two verses giving us this piece of revelation from the Lord:

“We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.” (2 Corinthians 6:1) “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10)

Notice Paul says in this second verse that the grace that God gave him ended up not being in vain. In other words, Paul used and worked with the grace that God was giving him, and as a result, he accomplished all of his divine assignments for the Lord and became one of the greatest apostles in all of the New Testament!

Notice Paul says that he “labored more abundantly than they all.” This key phrase is telling us that Paul was using and working with the grace that God was giving him as compared to some of the other Christians who were probably doing nothing or very little with the grace that God was wanting to give to them.

If God is going to give you His grace and power, then He is going to want you to do something with it.

Too many Christians are sitting in the dugout refusing to get into the real game of life with the Lord.

God can give you the baseball bat – which represents His gifts, grace, and power – but you have to be willing to step out of the dugout and get up to the plate and use the power of that bat to hit the ball.

If you do not, then all of God’s gifts, grace, and power that He was wanting to give to you in the first place will all end up being wasted, and you will end up receiving His grace in vain since you did absolutely nothing with the grace that He had initially given to you – just like Paul is perfectly describing in these two Scripture verses.

Paul was very quick to see that some of God’s people were receiving the grace of God in vain because they were not fully utilizing it like what he was doing.

How much of God’s grace is being wasted and ends up being received in vain because so many Christians are not willing to enter into God’s perfect will and plan for their lives?

How many gifted, born-again vessels are just sitting in the dugouts and doing absolutely nothing with the grace and power that God already has residing in them through the Holy Spirit?

As Christians, we have to realize that God has a perfect plan and destiny for each person that will fully surrender to it. And in that perfect plan and destiny is all of God’s grace and power that you will ever need to fully accomplish all of your divine assignments for Him. God’s grace is all there for the taking for those who are smart enough to grab a hold of it and are willing to work with Him on it.

As a Christian, if you do not find out what your true divine purpose and destiny is going to be with the Lord – then all the grace, power, and gifting that God already has set up for you to operate in will have all been received in vain.

As the above definitions are telling you – you will end up becoming fruitless, empty, unprofitable, and hollow in the eyes of the Lord if you fail to fulfill the divine destiny and purpose that He has already set up for you to enter into before you were even born into your mother’s womb.

Continue in the Grace of God

As I have stated in my article on “ The Full Surrender ” in the Bible Basics Section of our site, once you enter into a real full surrender with the Lord where He is now the One who will be guiding and directing your life in the specific directions that He will want it to go in – one of the things that you will have to get settled in your mind is that this will be a full surrender to the death.

There is absolutely no turning back once you enter into God’s perfect plan and destiny for your life.

As you will see in this next Scripture verse, the Bible is telling us that we have to “continue in the grace of God” – no matter how bad and rough things may get from time to time. God has a personal finish line that each person has to reach before they will be called home to be with Him for all of eternity.

As a result, God will always continue to give you His grace and power as you continue on in your walk with Him as long as you are staying in this full surrender with Him.

His grace will not only give you the power and ability to accomplish all of your divine missions for Him, but that same grace will also help keep you properly preserved and in one piece until you reach your personal finish line in Him.

Here is the verse where Paul is telling his followers to always continue in the grace of God for their lives.

“Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God .” (Acts 13:43)

The Bible tells us that Jesus Himself is the author and finisher of our faith. What this means is that not only will God start the story of your life in Him, but He will also make sure to properly finish it for you before you depart from this life to be with Him for all of eternity. God’s grace will take you all the way to the end of your life as long as you are willing to stay in the game with Him.

How to Receive the Grace of God

For those of you who were not aware of this second definition that the grace of God is referring to the power of God operating through you – there is a way that you can get God’s grace to start coming into your life in order to help you live a more victorious and overcoming life in Him.

The first step is to enter in a full surrender with the Lord. This is all explained to you in our article titled “ The Full Surrender .”

If you want God’s best to start flowing into your life, which will include receiving His divine grace and power, then you will have to give Him your best – and your best will be to make a full and complete surrender of your body, soul, spirit and your entire life into His hands.

Once you enter into this full surrender with the Lord, He will then start to take immediate control of your life and will then start to perfectly lead you every step of the way into your divine destiny.

And not only will God perfectly guide your steps in this life through the Holy Spirit, but He will also be giving you His divine power and grace so that you can be very good at whatever He will be calling you to do for Him.

If God calls you to be a doctor, an evangelist, a pastor, an attorney, a soldier in our armed forces, a professional athlete, a stay-at-home mom, or a policeman – then God will give you His divine grace and power to be very good at any of those specific jobs and callings.

In addition to having God’s grace flow through you so you can successfully operate in whatever He is calling you to do for Him in this life, you can also ask for God’s grace and power to handle any type of emergency situation you may find yourself having to face. Here is one whopper power verse showing us that God and His grace is available for all who will properly approach His “throne of grace.”

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

First notice that God calls His throne the “throne of grace.” This means that our God is a God full of mercy, help, compassion, and divine favor, and that He can release His divine power and grace into any situation that we will need His help on.

Then notice how this verse ends – “that we may obtain mercy and FIND GRACE in time of need.”

In other words, if you properly approach the Lord with your petitions and requests, then He can give you His divine grace and power to help you handle any type of problem, no matter how extreme or severe the problem may appear to you in the natural.

As I said at the top of this article, I believe the grace of God is like looking at a two-sided coin. On the one side of the coin the grace of God is God’s “unmerited favor and mercy.”

This is the grace that we are saved by through the blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The flip side to this same coin is that the grace of God is the power and ability of God flowing and operating through us so that we can fully accomplish everything that He would like for us to accomplish for Him in this life – and also to become the true saints that He is calling us to become in Him through the sanctification process that He wants to start with each and everyone of us.

The grace of God can thus empower us and sanctify us.

When you really stop and meditate on what the grace of God is really all about – we are dealing with one of the most powerful, spiritual truths known to mankind.

Bottom line:

• Without the grace of God – we would all die in our sins and never have any chance to be able to enter into heaven after we die and cross over
• Without the grace of God – we will not have the power to overcome sin and the temptation to keep on sinning
• Without the grace of God – we will not have the supernatural power to be able to enter into a true sanctification process with the Lord where He can then begin to mold, shape, and transform us into the express image of His Son Jesus Christ and make us into a better and more holy people
• Without the grace of God – we will never find what our true divine destinies are going to be in the Lord and what we were really created to be in this life
• Without the grace of God – we will not have the supernatural power and ability to become successful in the calls that He will be calling us to walk in
• Without the grace of God – we will never be able to live in harmony and in unity with ourselves, families, friends, and neighbors

In other words, without the grace of God working in our lives, we will never amount to anything and accomplish anything of any real worth as far as the Lord is concerned.

That is why Jesus has already told us that without Him we can do absolutely nothing in this life.

The branches on a tree will die if they do not draw all of their life from the trunk of the tree. Cut a branch off from a tree and it will immediately wither and die. In the same way, we as the branches connected to Jesus, have to draw His life and grace into our beings if we are going to have and experience any type of true life on this earth.

When you put all of the Scripture verses together on this topic, God is giving all of us a very profound and powerful revelation.

Not only can the grace of God save us from the fires of everlasting pain, punishment, and torment – but the grace of God can also give us the power and ability to become everything that He is calling us to become in Him in this life.

No amount of money, wealth, power, and fame can give you what the grace of God can give you. Money, power, and fame cannot buy you true happiness and fulfillment in this life.

Only God can give you true happiness and true fulfillment in this life, and He has made it as easy as He possibly can to be able to receive all of this from Him.

All you have to do is:

• Be willing to admit that you are a wretched sinner in need of a personal Savior to save you from your sins
• Be willing to then accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior so that all of your past, present, and future sins will be fully forgiven through the blood that He has personally shed for you on the cross
• And then be willing to enter into a full and complete surrender of your entire life with the Lord so that He is fully free to guide you into His perfect plan and destiny for your life

Do all of this and you will then find the grace and power of God coming into your life with a fire, with a passion, and with an intensity that you will never have known before.

God and His grace can enter into your life and change it for the better if you are willing to accept it, work with it, and then continue in it to the day you die and depart from this life.

The revelation that is contained in these Scripture verses are major, powerful, life-changing revelations if you are willing to believe and work with these powerful, spiritual truths.

Melchizedek

Wednesday 29th of November 2023

Wonderful exposition on the grace of God. However, you talk about facing judgment too. How do we reconcile future sins forgiven and facing judgment?

Feyisa Bedada

Saturday 2nd of September 2023

Incrideble! The article itself is full of God's grace; I am greatly blessed by the wonderful insight. May our almighty God bless you dear author!

Beverly Brown

Friday 2nd of June 2023

Excellent eye-opening, Spirit-filled revelations on 'The Grace of God. This article gives me a fresh understanding of The Grace of God. It allows me in-depth appreciate and understand so that I have a full grasp of how God's Grace is applicable in all of my Spiritual pursuits. I will be better able to handle the subject of "God's Grace" in my personal life and teaching others. Thank you for this inspirational writing.

Monday 20th of February 2023

You cannot say that grace is the person of Jesus He obeyed His Father. I would say that grace is an attribute of God, God as being the trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Without God, the Father Jesus would have followed His own will and probably not died on the cross. Without Jesus, there would be no forgiveness for our sins and without the Spirit, there would be no sanctification.

Friday 6th of August 2021

It is very nice to give meaningful understanding with reference of bible.

Ralph Garth

Thursday 23rd of September 2021

@benzir, I was reading a lesson that Andrew Wommack had wrote on grace. In his teaching he said that a lost person receiving Jesus as Lord and savior don't have ask Jesus to for him just receive what Jesus has already done. Is this true.

4 Ways to Encounter Grace and Truth: A Study on John, Chapter 4

Even in our super-connected society, there are some people we pass by and never meet. Sometimes, we miss an encounter that could challenge, teach, or change us.

Jesus, however, was always intentional about the people he met. One example is in John 4 when he stops and talks with the woman known as “the Woman at the Well.” 

In this passage, Jesus is on his way to Galilee. Instead of continuing on, he chooses to go through the town of Samaria, where he stops beside a well. While he is there, a woman from Samaria comes to draw water. In this study, we will dive into this deep Scripture to study 4 ways to encounter grace and truth through John, Chapter 4.

Photo Credit: SWN Design

Two men. One an Old Testament prophet, chosen by God to preach repentance and mercy to a tough crowd. One a New Testament believer, chosen by God to preach repentance and mercy in the midst of a tough crowd. One would run away from the Lord. One would run to him. One would speak fewer than ten words of warning. One would preach a sermon on his deathbed. One would be furious about God’s mercy toward his enemies. One would call upon God’s mercy for his enemies. One was full of bitterness and anger. One was full of faith and the Holy Spirit. And that made all the difference.

Many people know the story of Jonah, or they think they do—he was the guy who was swallowed up by a whale, right? Well, technically it was a big fish, but that’s only one part of the story. The Lord came to Jonah and said, “Go to Nineveh and preach.” So Jonah went . . . hundreds of miles in the opposite direction. He jumped on a boat heading to Spain. That’s where the big storm came up, and he was tossed overboard and swallowed up by the fish, where he stayed for three days before God made the fish vomit him up onto dry land. And then the Lord said again, “Go to Nineveh.”

This time Jonah obeyed, but still reluctantly. He walked into the city, and in one of the lamest attempts of prophesying ever recorded, he said, “You’ve got 40 days.” Jonah basically did his best to make sure they wouldn’t repent and receive forgiveness. But to Jonah’s surprise, the Ninevites repented, fasted, and called “urgently on God” (Jonah 3:8). And then, much to Jonah’s chagrin, God had compassion on them “and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened” (verse 10). This man of God who had just recently been delivered from the belly of a fish, saved from drowning and forgiven for his cowardice and disobedience . . . this man now became angry at the Lord’s compassion for his enemies, the Ninevites. He said, “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (4:2). So far so good, right? But instead of praising God for those qualities from which he had just benefited, Jonah followed it up with this: “Now, L ord , take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live” (4:3). The Lord, slow to anger, had mercy on Jonah’s enemies. Jonah, quick to anger, would rather die than see his enemies forgiven. And that’s how his story ends.

The story of Stephen is not quite as well known. You’ll find it in the Bible book of Acts, and we are introduced to Stephen as “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5). Back story—Jesus had died, had risen from the dead, and had ascended into heaven. The early Christian church was growing by leaps and bounds, despite the persecution it faced daily, and there was more work than the disciples could handle. So Stephen was chosen to help further the kingdom, and we are told that “Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people” (6:8). It didn’t take long for him to attract the attention of some enemies, and soon he was seized and brought before the Sanhedrin on false charges, a bit reminiscent of the Savior in whose name he did miracles. After an impassioned speech containing Old Testament history and a well-deserved tongue-lashing for the Jewish leaders, Stephen was dragged out of the city and stoned to death. But before he died, Stephen fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (7:60). As he was getting pummeled with stones from his enemies, Stephen called for God’s mercy and forgiveness upon them, again reminiscent of his Savior’s words on the cross (Luke 23:34). And that’s how his story ends.

Jonah. Stephen. A reluctant prophet praying for his enemies’ destruction. A willing servant praying for his enemies’ salvation. Full of anger and bitterness. Full of faith and the Spirit. Which are we? Does it give us satisfaction when our enemies get what’s coming to them? Do we withhold forgiveness and forget that we too desperately need and receive that same forgiveness from God?

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:31,32)

It’s not an easy thing to forgive others, especially those whom we believe deserve our wrath and God’s. If we have been hurt, we think holding on to that resentment and anger will punish that person for what they did wrong. But it is really like swallowing a burning poison. We are only hurting ourselves. Jonah was only hurting himself with his anger and bitterness. Stephen prayed for God’s mercy and forgiveness on his enemies, and he died peacefully in the arms of his Savior.

Two men. Two very different hearts. And a God who forgives and forgives and forgives.

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About the Author

Missy martens.

Missy lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with her husband, Jon, where they own and run Copper State Brewing Company. She homeschools their four active children, oftentimes at the brewery, and they somehow keep learning in spite of her. Missy loves witty banter, adventures of all sorts, and coffee . . . lots of coffee. And Jesus . . . lots of Jesus.

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Bible studies, study 8 the miracle of god’s grace.

THE LETTERS TO TITUS AND PHILEMON by Francis Dixon (Scripture Portion: Titus 3: 3 – 8)

Every true conversion is a miracle of God’s saving grace, and in this study we shall consider several aspects of the salvation which has been made available to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. There are three key words in Titus 3:5 – ‘he saved us’. This is the testimony of a great company of people to whom Paul is referring. Do you belong to that company? This key verse gives us a word-picture of the content of the Christian gospel, and at the very heart of the verse is the great Bible word ‘saved’, which occurs very frequently throughout scripture – look up Isaiah 45:22; Matthew 1:21; Luke 19:10; John 10:9; Acts 16:30-31; Romans 10:13. This is what the Bible is all about; it is about being saved. Jesus came in order that we might be saved. But:-

1. WHY DO WE NEED TO BE SAVED?

We need to be saved from sin (Matthew 1:21); from wrath (John 3:36); from self (Romans 6:12); and from Hell (Luke 16:23). But Titus 3:3 answers the question very graphically giving us God’s description of the natural, unregenerate man. Notice that the apostle uses the pronoun ‘we’, not ‘you’, when he is describing unregenerate human nature. Notice also the words ‘at one time’. Paul is really saying, ‘This is the kind of people we were before we became Christians; here is a group photograph, a family picture of the human race.’ Look at this picture of every one of us in our natural state:-

• FOOLISH – or, as we should say, ignorant – compare 1 Corinthians 2:14.
• DISOBEDIENT – or, refusing the Lord’s authority in our lives.
• DECEIVED – by Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4), by the world and by false prophets.
• ENSLAVED – ‘by all kinds of passions and pleasures.’
• MALICE AND ENVY – ‘We lived in malice and envy’ (or jealousy).
• BEING HATED – detestable, odious, repulsive.
• HATING ONE ANOTHER – look up Jeremiah 17:9.

Whether we admit it or not, this is God’s description of the natural man.

2. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SAVED?

In these verses we are told that it means at least three things that God does for those whom He saves by His grace:-

• It means to be Born Again. See the end of verse 5. To be born again or regenerated by the Holy Spirit means to receive a new life – compare 2 Corinthians 5:17. When God saves us He does not patch up the old life; He imparts a new nature – look up 2 Peter 1:4, and compare John 3:3,5,7,8. When we are born again we receive ‘the hope of eternal life’ (verse 7).
• It means to be Justified. Verse 7 tells us this. When we are saved we not only receive a new life, but God does something about the old life. He forgives and forgets our sins, and He also justifies us – which means He treats me ‘just-as-if-I’d’ never sinned at all. He completely removes our sins from us, and then declares us righteous in His sight. Look up Psalm 103:12, and compare Romans 5:17.
• It means to be made a Child of God. Verse 7 tells us that when God saves us we ‘become heirs…’ We are made ‘God’s children, and if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ’ – so says Romans 8:16-17.

Notice the wonderful change that has taken place between verse 3 and verses 5 and 7; the man of verse 3 is transformed into the man of verses 5 and 7. How this magnifies the wondrous grace of God! But:-

3. HOW ARE WE SAVED?

How is the man of verse 3 made the man of verses 5 and 7 – a man who now possesses a new life (born again), a new standing before God (justified), a new relationship with God (a child and an heir)? What an important ‘How’ this is! In verse 5 it is answered both negatively and positively:-

• Negatively. ‘ Not because of righteous things we had done…’ Man’s philosophy is to leave out the word ‘not’. Ask the average man how to be saved, and he will answer, ‘By my good works!’ But God’s way of salvation is ‘ not because of righteous things which we had done’, for we are not saved by any effort, by trying or by works of our own – look up and compare Ephesians 2:8-10. We are not saved ‘because of righteous things which we had done.’ How are we saved? Verse 5 (and verse 4) goes on to tell us:-
• Positively. ‘But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared…because of His mercy He saved us…’ The word ‘appeared’ takes us back to Bethlehem, and the word ‘saved’ takes us back to Calvary, where the Lord Jesus Christ completed the work of our salvation 2000 years ago.

In verse 5, therefore, we have man’s way, which is ‘do’; and God’s way, which is ‘done’. Our part in salvation is simply to believe the testimony that God sent His Son to be our Saviour, and to put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ – notice the word ‘trusted’ in verse 8 – compare John 1:12. All this leads us to ask one more question:-

4. WHAT IS THE RESULT OF BEING SAVED?

What is the evidence that we are saved? Verse 8 tells us – ‘doing what is good’. There is no contradiction here. We are not saved by working for our salvation, but when we have been saved by God’s grace, the evidence of that salvation is seen in our works.

It is vain to say we are saved if there are ‘no good’ works evidenced in our daily living – look up and compare James 2:20.

In concluding this study will you answer these two questions?

• Have I believed on the Lord Jesus Christ (verse 8), and am I therefore saved (verse 5)?
• If so, is my life different? Is it the opposite of verse 3?
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Tangible Experiences of Grace: A Qualitative Investigation of Divine Grace in Roman Catholics

Hunter b. harwood.

Rosemead School of Psychology, Biola University, 13800 Biola Ave, La Mirada, CA 90639 USA

M. Elizabeth Lewis Hall

Keith j. edwards, peter c. hill, associated data.

Given ethical concerns, the interviews will not be made available. However, analyses can be requested from [email protected].

According to Catholic theology, God offers a gift of love, known as divine grace, to all of humanity. This gift of divine grace is the gift of redemption and forgiveness of sins from God that is offered to everyone who decides to acknowledge and accept it. Grace is central to the lived experience of many Christians. This qualitative study examined how Catholics perceive and experience divine grace using interviews that assessed perceptions of divine grace in 29 practicing adult Catholics. A grounded theory analysis resulted in themes indicating that these Catholics view God’s divine grace as a tangible gift that is undeserved though continuously offered. The participants’ experience of God’s grace is not just an abstract theological concept but an embodied aspect of religious life with which believers can interact in many powerful ways. Three characteristics of God’s divine grace (i.e., salvific grace, cooperation through free will, primacy of conscience and the afterlife) and three mechanisms to experiencing God’s grace (i.e., sacraments, prayer and meditation, saints) are presented.

While research in the psychology of religion has made substantial progress in investigating the religious life of individuals, one theological concept that is central to many religious groups, grace, has received relatively little attention. Emmons et al. ( 2017 ) noted that grace is “the gift of acceptance given unconditionally and voluntarily to an undeserving person by an unobligated giver... grace reflects a vital psychological need held by all people” (p. 276). Recently, grace has been investigated in a handful of quantitative studies in conservative Protestant populations (Bufford et al., 2015 , 2017 ; Judd et al., 2020 ). However, to date there have been no quantitative or qualitative studies that have focused explicitly on the aspects of how Catholics uniquely experience God’s divine grace, which is an ongoing and prominent aspect of Catholic life.

The Catholic theology of divine grace is distinct from Protestant theology as sacraments (e.g., the Eucharist, confession) actively embody God’s grace and good works assist the believer to participate in divine grace. Thus, it is possible that Protestants may experience divine grace more subjectively while Catholics may experience divine grace more tangibly as sacraments and good works allow grace to be participated in throughout the lifespan (McHugh & Callan,  1923 ). In this study, the focus is on Catholics’ experience of divine grace as the gift of love through divine acceptance. As suggested by Emmons et al. ( 2017 ), the current study employed a qualitative methodology based on open-ended interviews to explore how Catholics think about, experience, and are impacted by divine grace. The literature review first examines the Catholic theology of divine grace, focusing on the process of justification and how grace is manifested through the sacraments and good works. Next, a review of psychological research on the topic of grace is presented.

Catholic theology of divine grace

Historic Christian teachings about grace are similar across conservative segments of Christianity. In the Bible, especially in the writings of Paul, the concept of grace is described using the Greek word χάρις, which translates as favor or gift (Barclay, 2015 ). From a theological perspective, this gift of divine grace is the gift of forgiveness of sins from God that is offered to everyone who decides to accept it (Emmons et al., 2017 ; McMinn et al., 2006 ). This notion of grace comes out of God’s abundance of love for humanity, and it is not based on any merit in the individual. Humanity did not do anything to earn grace, although it is expected that once the gift is accepted there will be ongoing obligations to fulfill (Barclay, 2015 ). Divine grace was made possible because God sent Jesus Christ to earth to save humanity. Through Jesus’ crucifixion and subsequent resurrection, forgiveness of sins was achieved so that all could have the opportunity for salvation. However, different segments of Christianity also differ in some teachings related to grace. Here, we cover three distinctive aspects of Catholic teachings regarding grace: sacraments, justification, and good works.

Grace through sacraments

To deepen believers’ experience of grace and relationship with God, Catholics engage in sacraments. Sacraments are ways in which individuals can participate in God’s grace. There are seven recognized sacraments that make the grace of God accessible: baptism, Eucharist, confirmation, reconciliation, anointing of the sick, marriage, and holy orders (Godzieba, 2008 ). The first sacrament partaken of is baptism. Baptism provides salvation and opens the door to the other sacraments. However, even after baptism, humanity continues to be sinful. Believers must continue to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus through engaging in the remaining sacraments and in actions such as praying the rosary, keeping the company of saints, and obeying the pope (Stjerna, 2015 ). A study by McKay et al. ( 2013 ) demonstrated that participating in confession promotes prosocial behavior. In their study, Catholic participants were asked to recall committing and repenting of a past sin. Results demonstrated that imagining forgiveness of their sins increased the pro-social behavior of donating to the Catholic church. The effect was stronger for individuals who believed in divine judgment and those who engaged in spiritual practices.

Grace and justification

In response to the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church held the Council of Trent, which rejected the Protestant idea of faith alone and endorsed a “both/and” view of grace and works. The both/and view of grace holds that justification is to be achieved through both faith and works (Council of Trent, 2019 ). However, this does not mean that Catholics believe that individuals need to complete works to be forgiven. Rather, one is justified or considered to be “saved” once one is baptized. Yet, this justification is not static as believers are continually transformed throughout their lives. While the sin of humanity was paid for by the blood of Christ, humans are still incapable of turning to God for deliverance alone because of their sinful nature (Catholic Church, 2000 ). Humans must “cooperate” and allow God to divinely intervene and justify them through God’s grace (Vidovic, 2019 ).

Good works through grace

Works are ways in which believers cooperate with God (Washburn, 2015 ). According to Pope Benedict XVI, one is able to engage in good works after God enters the soul through the sacrament of baptism, as “charity is love received and given. It is grace (χάρις)” (McBrien, 1980 , p. 991). Through justification and the process of sanctification, humanity is able to live in God’s divine grace and produce good works that glorify God. According to Catholic tradition, engaging in good works will allow the believer to be reformed into the perfect image of Jesus Christ (Fuliga, 2009 ). There are many examples of good works in which believers should engage, as demonstrated and proclaimed by Jesus Christ throughout the New Testament. For instance, believers are called to help those in need by clothing, feeding, and visiting them (Matthew 25:31–46).

Qualitative research has been conducted to better understand how God’s grace plays a role in charity. A qualitative study completed by Warner et al. ( 2015 ) examined the associations between making a charitable donation (i.e., to either a religious or secular group) and duty to God, community expectations, and perceptions of God’s grace among Catholic parish members. Overall, it was revealed in the essays and interviews that “God’s grace and deservingness prompted thoughts of charity and that duty to God did not” (p. 204). Participants did not consider helping others a duty to God or a requirement of the faith; rather, they considered it a choice to “live as God tells them” (p. 200).

Quantitative studies related to divine grace

Psychologists cannot directly measure God’s divine grace, although it is possible for researchers to measure human experiences and perceptions about the divine. Researchers have attempted to quantify these experiences through developing self-report instruments such as the Grace Scale (GS; Payton et al., 2000 ; Spradlin, 2002 ), Richmont Grace Scale (RGS; Blackburn et al., 2012 ; Sisemore et al., 2011 ; Watson et al., 2011 ), The Amazing Grace Scale (TAGS; Bassett and the Roberts Wesleyan Psychology Research Group, 2013 ), and Dimensions of Grace Scale (Bufford et al., 2017 ).

The quantitative studies that have examined grace thus far suggest that grace can assist believers in fighting against negative mental health symptoms such as religious and existential distress, internalized shame, perfectionism, anxiety, and depression (Bufford et al., 2015 , 2017 ; Judd et al., 2020 ), as well as fear of sin and punishment from God (Judd et al., 2020 ). However, these measures broadly define grace in a mostly relational human dynamic (i.e., grace to self and others) in non-Catholic populations and have operationalized grace from a primarily Protestant framework. Consequently, it is unclear whether these findings would be replicated in Catholic samples.

Two qualitative studies have been conducted that emphasize grace as divine assistance. Bronte and Wade ( 2012 ) asked 25 people ages 22 to 66 to define and describe grace, discuss their thoughts and beliefs about the change in their life, what happened before and during the change, and what convinced them to believe that the grace came from a divine being such as God. Altogether, the experiences of grace mainly clustered into three categories: presenting problems, increased self-efficacy, and fulfilled needs. Overall, the participants expressed that grace made them feel loved and enlivened by the divine and that it allowed them to change by letting go of undesirable preconceived ideas, conditions, and actions.

Further, Sytsma et al. ( 2018 ) completed a qualitative study that examined the impact of spiritual life review and legacy document formation with five elderly people suffering from advanced diseases. Four common themes were identified across the interviews: community, strength, inspiration, and spirituality providing comfort. One of the participants was an 82-year-old Catholic man with mild cognitive impairments and a diagnosis of coronary artery disease. He reported that his religion was a source of comfort for him and that he felt he could take all troubling experiences and thoughts to God and “then let [them] go.” Throughout his life, he struggled with drinking and chain smoking, though after asking for God’s assistance, he claimed, “God gave me the grace to change.”

Studies such as these suggest that divine grace plays an important role in one’s spiritual well-being. Individuals express that God’s grace allows them to experience positive life change (e.g., break addictions), acquire emotional experiences (e.g., feel love and enlivenment), and have more positive experiences with others (Bronte & Wade, 2012 ; Sytsma et al., 2018 ). However, these studies do not focus explicitly on the Catholic population and do not speak to the unique aspects of how Catholics possibly experience God’s divine grace (e.g., confession, Eucharist, good works).

Present study

To date, no studies have focused explicitly on the unique aspects of how Catholics experience God’s divine grace. It is important to explore the construct of divine grace as it is an ongoing aspect of the Catholic life that is distinct in some ways from Protestant conceptions of grace. The purpose of this qualitative study was to address the following research questions: (a) How do Catholic individuals describe, perceive, and experience God’s divine grace? (b) What are the ways in which Catholics experience God’s divine grace in religious community and spiritual practices?

Participants

After receiving ethical approval from the institutional human rights in research committee, 29 adult participants were recruited for this study. Recruitment consisted of advertising the study by word of mouth in four states (i.e., Oklahoma, California, Texas, South Carolina) and convenience sampling in local universities and Catholic churches in the Los Angeles and Orange County (California) areas using announcements and emails. The primary researcher recruited in these four states because she had personal and academic connections to assist with recruiting and she wanted to diversify the sample. The researcher also directly emailed individuals who were recommended as participants (e.g., individuals were recommended by various faculty at Biola University) and posted on social media platforms (e.g., Facebook) to seek volunteers. Participants were compensated with $50 Visa gift cards.

Twelve participants (41.38%) were male, and 17 were female (58.62%). The participants ranged in age from 18 to 77 years of age ( M  = 39, SD  = 17.54). Sixteen participants self-identified as White (55.17%), 10 as Hispanic or Latino (34.48%), and three as biracial or multiracial (10.34%). Twenty-seven (93.1%) reported attending mass once weekly, one (3.45%) reported going twice a week, and one (3.45%) reported attending daily. One reported attending confession twice a week (3.45%), one attended weekly (3.45%), seven attended once monthly (24.14%), two attended semimonthly or twice monthly (6.9%), five attended bimonthly or every two months (17.24%), two attended quarterly (6.9%), eight attended biannually (27.6%), and three attended annually (10.34).

A semistructured interview was developed for 60–90-min interviews to address the research questions. The interview questions examined the participants’ experience, explicit/implicit views of God, perceptions of God’s view of the self, spiritual struggles, spiritual practices, and understanding of saving, accepting, teleology/sanctifying, and common grace. The questions were open-ended and were revised in subsequent interviews to reach theoretical saturation (Charmaz, 2014 ). For instance, one interview prompt was changed from “Catholic theologians often mention the concept of salvation by grace and works” to “Catholic theologians often mention the concept of grace and its relationship with good works.” This amendment was made as Catholic participants in the earlier interviews expressed the belief that salvation is not achieved through works.

Due to the subjective nature of qualitative research, the primary researcher provided a reflexive statement that identified personal information that might have potentially biased the analytic process (Fischer, 2009 ; Levitt et al., 2018 ). She identifies as a 26-year-old White Protestant female who was raised in a Christian household. Throughout her life, she has been involved in the Protestant community, though she has also studied Catholic theology academically and knows many individuals who identify with the Catholic tradition.

Furthermore, the primary researcher engaged in memo writing that included the researcher’s reactions, questions, and ideas throughout the coding process to maintain fidelity (Levitt et al., 2018 ). Also, six interviews were double-coded to reduce subjective bias (Landis & Koch, 1977 ). The research assistant who conducted the double-coding was a White Protestant female in her early 30 s pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology who had previous experience coding interviews for qualitative psychological research. There was substantial agreement between the two coders ( k  = .7; 97.86% agreement). Lastly, a member check that included summaries of major findings was completed to validate and ensure that the researcher reflected on the participants’ experiences accurately and objectively (Birt et al., 2016 ). The member check did not result in any changes to the analysis.

Data analysis

The interviews were analyzed using Charmaz ( 2014 ) grounded theory. Once all interviews were transcribed, initial open coding was completed, analyzing each word on every line. This step categorized features of the participants’ faith and life journeys and encapsulated each participant’s experience into overarching themes (e.g., spiritual experiences and practices). Following this, axial coding was completed. This step allowed the primary researcher to break down core themes (e.g., characteristics of divine grace, mechanisms for experiencing God’s grace) and identify relationships between categories and subcategories (e.g., salvific grace, grace through sacraments). Open coding and axial coding were completed simultaneously, chunking the data into categories while the interviews were read several times through. Through open and axial coding, the themes were refined, forming interconnections. Next, the primary researcher developed a rough draft of the theory regarding how Catholics experience and perceive God’s divine grace. The primary researcher consulted with professionals associated with the project to fine-tune the theory. Lastly, selective coding was completed to review the core categories and themes to produce a conclusive and cohesive theory (e.g., tangible grace).

The interviews gave insight into how the Catholics in this study experienced God’s divine grace and their understanding that the offer of grace should be returned with obedience after being accepted. The overarching meta-theme identified in this study was tangible grace. The grounded theory that emerged suggests that the participants’ experience of God’s grace was not just as an abstract or mysterious theological concept but a material, embodied, and concrete aspect of religious life with which believers could interact in many powerful ways. The tangibility of God’s grace makes Catholic experiences and perceptions of divine grace distinct from Protestants in that many Catholic religious rituals and practices (e.g., the Eucharist, confession) provide a strong literal and physical sense of connection with God.

While the analysis resulted in a number of themes that are common across Christian groups (e.g., grace as a gift, continuous grace, common grace), here we focus on the ones that are most distinctive to the Catholic experience. Consequently, in this results section various characteristics of divine grace (i.e., salvific grace, cooperation through free will, primacy of conscience and the afterlife) are presented. Next, several mechanisms for experiencing God’s grace (i.e., sacraments, prayer and meditation, and saints) are discussed.

Characteristics of divine grace

Throughout the interviews, the participants described many characteristics of God’s divine grace, demonstrating the complexity of the concept. In this section of the results, three descriptors of God’s grace are discussed: salvific grace, cooperation through free will, and primacy of conscience.

Salvific grace

Twenty-eight participants discussed the salvific nature of God’s grace. Participants described throughout the interviews the belief that humanity is offered grace through God’s love and Jesus’ crucifixion and subsequent resurrection. One woman reflected on the salvific qualities of God’s grace, accentuating God’s initiative and mercy on humanity:

By His grace, I am saved, and even if I’m that one lost sheep, He always goes to look for me. . . . I’m thinking back to the Prodigal Son story, the father’s grace saved the son before he even asked for redemption. . . . I think that’s what saved by grace is, that God’s love for us is so immense . . . no matter what, He will love us.

Likewise, a male participant described how humans are in a constant state of grace:

At the beginning of John, it says because of Him we received grace in place of grace . . . we are in a constant state of grace, everything that we see is because of God’s grace. . . . Because of His grace we receive that forgiveness no matter what, even though we turn away [from] His grace. . . . We still have that option to turn back to Him to be saved through His grace because of His infallible divine mercy.

This man’s words suggest that humans are always in a state of grace unless they reject God. Nevertheless, people are always given the choice to change their minds and receive salvation again.

Moreover, a few participants described salvific grace as being associated with God’s love for humanity. For example, one man expressed that he feels that God offers him salvation and love through divine grace:

It’s not really about my credits, it’s about God’s grace. . . . It’s not something that I deserve, it’s not something that I’ve sort of earned . . . salvation I think and just His love overall, I think it’s something that He gives me regardless.

Similarly, one female participant described how obtaining salvific grace is about being open to God’s love:

If I don’t follow God, if I’m not open to His love, I won’t be saved. . . . It’s not of my own merit that I am saved. . . . God gives me, gives us, the grace to be saved. . . . I know that everything that I need is in Christ. . . . I think God gives us the avenue by which we can be saved.

Cooperation through free will

Twenty-five participants discussed the importance of continuously cooperating with God’s grace through free will. As previously mentioned, the first sacrament partaken of is usually baptism. According to the Catholic tradition, baptism provides an individual salvation; however, humanity continues to be broken and sinful even after baptism. Consequently, believers must continue to be transformed through the process of sanctification and must continuously interact in God’s grace.

One male participant described how Catholics believed that they are justified, or cleansed from sin, through baptismal regeneration, though one must continue to be transformed through engaging in good works:

Salvation is a process. . . . We are all saved by the grace of baptism. . . . Throughout my life, I can do what is right or what is wrong, and God allows people to do wrong things or good things, but He infuses grace in person so we can do good works, and it’s His own work, His own gracious works that are acting through us. That’s what we mean by salvation by grace and justification by works.

This participant’s words align with the “both/and” view of grace from the Council of Trent, which stated that justification was achieved through both faith and works (Council of Trent, 2019 ).

These Catholic participants emphasized that a part of engaging in a “both/and” view of grace is actively cooperating out of one’s free will. One female participant stated that her faith has to include her statement of faith and her free will’s cooperation with God:

My faith in Christ is essential to my salvation, and this faith can’t just be an utterance “Jesus is my Lord and Savior,” that’s not enough, my faith needs to produce fruits, which are good works, and me using my free will to cooperate with Him. Anything I do is not through my own merit; it’s through my free will’s cooperation with God’s original intention for me and cooperation with His will.

Similarly, a male participant expressed the belief that humans are meant to act in obedience to God’s grace, although God never forces this because God gave humans free will to make individual choices:

We have free will, and because He loves us and because we’re not robots, we have the choice to love Him. . . . It talks about how your works in the Bible are as filthy rags to God, that means you can’t do anything without the will of God. . . . Anything good cannot come from you; it has to come through God’s will. . . . I’m reminded of Paul talking about working out your salvation with fear and trembling. . . . Your life is just a series of moments, of choices all together, and at any given time I could make a choice to go to the right or to the left or go straight . . . where I have that decision—free will.

This man referenced Paul’s words in Philippians 2:12 to communicate the importance of humans needing to act in obedience to God’s grace that is provided.

One female participant described how cooperating with grace is not an obligation but a way of being in a relationship with God:

Grace comes first and then works as a result of that . . . it’s mostly tied to kind of James’s book in the Bible where it talks about faith without works is dead . . . through grace, we are able to then thus work out our faith. . . . I don’t see it as an obligation but more of God’s grace working in me that’s allowing me to do these things as an act of love for Him. It’s more of a relationship . . . not like me as a soldier taking commands from the commander but more so of me being in a loving relationship and choosing to do these things for God, and not because it’s changing His status of me or the way that He thinks about me, but it’s more so my way of showing God that I appreciate the grace that He’s showing me every day, but it is also His grace that’s allowing me to share this to say that to Him anyway, so it really is this beautiful thing where God gives you the ability to show Him that you love Him, but it’s also your willingness to be open to receiving that grace.

This woman referenced James 2:14–26 to argue that works, not faith alone, justify humans. She argued that humans must daily choose, using their free will, to prioritize God’s grace. Cooperating with God’s grace has personally allowed her to build a loving relationship with God. One male participant reflected that God is always seeking out this relationship with humans, regardless of what they have done:

He’s always seeking you with His grace, always . . . He has called me to reach out many times to homeless people, and what Jesus has said is you don’t have to reach out to them physically; you can reach out to them through prayer.

In his reflection, this participant communicated that humans are called to cooperate with God’s grace by engaging in this relationship with God and others who need prayer, such as people currently living in homelessness. Free will is implied in this reflection as he describes humans needing to reach out to God to have a relationship, not God forcing humans to have a relationship with God.

Similarly, a woman suggested that a part of cooperating with God’s grace is working toward justice in the world by volunteering personal time and material goods:

I can’t possibly recognize how much I’ve been given without feeling a profound and inescapable obligation to return and to pass on . . . whether that’s material giving or volunteering, or time, but also to accompany people to be present to them, to build community, to be working for justice in the world. . . . I see grace as fundamentally almost like a verb rather than a noun, of something that is generative, that is life-giving, that isn’t static, that is dynamic, that is always giving, and renewing, and calling forth a response.

According to this woman, grace is a verb that calls for action. She suggests that it is an obligation and duty for believers to cooperate with grace once accepted.

Another female participant suggested that believers can cooperate with God’s grace by listening to God, being mindful, and opening their hearts:

It’s up to me to listen, to be mindful, and to open my heart so that He can give me whatever graces that He wants me to have. . . . We talk about the works of mercy—being kind . . . give food to the hungry, drink to the poor, clothing. . . . We have to be charitable, and kind and caring, and loving, even if it’s hard. . . . I’m not going to be saved by my works, I’m going to be saved by God’s grace, and that’s His decision.

Generally, she argued that Catholics are meant to serve others through tangible works of mercy and to demonstrate love. Overall, she communicated that believers are saved by God’s grace, although it is also a believer’s job to engage in whatever works God desires and to actively use their free will to listen and be mindful of God’s daily offer of graces.

Primacy of conscience and the afterlife

Nine participants explicitly expressed how grace plays a role in going to heaven or hell and what Catholic doctrine says about eternal salvation for individuals who are not Catholic. A few participants utilized the concept “primacy of conscience” to describe what Catholics teach about salvation for those outside of the Catholic tradition. One female participant explained how she understands the term primacy of conscience and its connection to the afterlife:

The theology of the primacy of conscience, which in the catechism states God takes everything into account when He considers His creation. He looks at their circumstances. He looks at their illness, if they have hard experiences, if they’d been abused and turned away from the church, He sees those things, and He will not hold them against us in His infinite mercy. . . . An atheist who made moral decisions based on their primacy of conscience—God sees that as good.

Similarly, another female participant expressed that if people make moral decisions, they can achieve salvation, even if they have denounced their faith or never heard of Catholicism:

The whole goal, if you’re Catholic, is to get to heaven. . . . His grace makes it eventually, so we can meet Him in heaven. There are steps, like purgatory, just so that we are ready to receive God. . . . People who have no way of knowing what Catholicism is or they have a hard time knowing who God is, I think that they can for sure find God’s grace if they have a sense that there’s a higher power and they do everything that they can to be good to others. . . . I think even if someone denounces faith God would still be there.

One woman expanded on the idea of people making moral decisions, though she highlighted how God’s grace can protect people from going to hell:

As a faith, we teach that salvation is through Jesus alone, the truest way to salvation, and the truest way to understand God’s grace is through the Catholic church. But we also firmly believe that God is merciful. . . . One of the things I love about the Catholic faith is that we will never say anyone is in hell . . . we believe that in the end, the final judgment. that God has a way. . . . Through His sacrifice, it opens the gates, and it is His grace that allows us to enter, but you know if there are barriers to that, God is understanding of that.

Overall, these participants argued that as long as people are generally making moral decisions, people can achieve grace and heaven as God offers grace freely to all, and God takes individual circumstances into account when determining where one should spend the afterlife.

Mechanisms for experiencing God’s grace

Throughout the interviews, the participants also described various mechanisms for experiencing God’s divine grace. Three mechanisms for participating in God’s divine grace are described: sacraments, prayer and meditation, and saints.

Twenty-eight of the participants discussed experiencing divine grace tangibly through engaging in sacraments. The two sacraments that were discussed the most in the interviews were the Eucharist and confession. These two religious sacraments seemed to be especially helpful as they directly engage one’s senses (e.g., touch, taste, sound); they allow grace to be embodied. The Eucharist especially interacts with one’s senses in an intimate way as it is meant to be consumed. One young female participant described the intimacy of the Eucharist and how it is not taken solely as a symbol but as Jesus’ literal flesh and blood:

There is a term called “transubstantiation” where it is no longer that piece of bread, but it is literally Jesus Christ’s flesh. . . . We believe that it transforms into Jesus Christ’s flesh once it’s consecrated by a priest. When we receive it, it is a very intimate moment where we are actually uniting our actual bodies with Christ’s body. . . . We very much take that passage literally where Jesus Christ says, “he who eats of my flesh,” he desires that we take that very literally.

Thus, ingesting the Eucharist allows one to literally embody God’s divine grace.

One woman described how partaking in the sacrament of the Eucharist helps believers become part of the body of Christ:

We believe that it’s literally the body and blood of Christ. Christ’s flesh enters into us and it gives us some real strengths, and we become part of the body of Christ. . . . Being able to partake in salvation history like through the Mass, it’s such a grace . . . it’s such a stabilizing thing for me.

This woman feels that engaging in the Eucharist is a grace as it allows her to be strengthened and stabilized. By consuming the host, the church as a whole is able to come together and become part of the literal body of Christ.

Another female participant emphasized the Eucharist and its ability to help her personally feel God’s divine grace:

It’s Jesus himself and the fact that he’s willing to be in that humble state hidden in the host and give it to me, it’s just so powerful. I feel His grace really strongly in that moment because it’s so tangible. I’ll have the host in my mouth, and I imagine that it’s like flesh. . . . I look up at the crucifix and think about how that was for me and everybody.

Consuming the Eucharist allows this woman to be reminded of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and consequently the grace that she believes is offered to her.

Further, the sacrament of reconciliation, also known as confession, was frequently described by participants. One woman talked about the process of confession and how one is able to achieve forgiveness through the sacrament:

Catholics believe that when the priest is confessing you, he is no longer himself, but he is Jesus Christ himself as the sole confessor. . . . I think that is a very intimate moment where I can come completely vulnerable to him and approach him . . . the sacrament is very important and very powerful, it’s allowing us to really be able to conceptualize what it would be like to actually come to Jesus Christ himself and to be vulnerable and allow him even into the areas that we try to hide on a daily basis and to be able to allow him to come to transform those areas as well.

This form of direct communication allows God’s grace to be embodied and tangible for the penitent. Due to God’s divine grace being embodied in confession, this woman has been able to allow God to transform her life.

A female participant explained the experience of confession in a poem she wrote entitled, “Upward Spiral”:

It’s this idea that I’m in the state of grace and then I start sinning—I’m down, I’m lower, I’m less holy, and then if I am at that bottom point I go to confession and it springs me up to even higher than I was before in my holiness, and then it repeats, and so it’s like every time I get a little bit higher after I fail and then repent and get closer to God, and that spring, that catalyst is Christ’s grace. . . . It’s just a gift. The line in the poem is, “Springs me up to a place that I do not deserve,” and ultimately the idea is what God cares about is our appearance, not our perfection.

Her poetic words give a visual for how believers are in a constant state of grace, though faith has its up and downs. Through confession, she feels that she is able to get closer to God when she is feeling down through God’s catalyst, grace.

One female specifically made the connection between confession and grace, discussing how it assists her in relieving her burdens:

Confession, that’s one way that we experience God’s grace really as much as we want. . . . I’ve had experiences where I just felt really burdened by something because of something I’ve done, or something just weighing on my heart and bring that to confession and receiving God’s mercies, it can be overwhelming sometimes because I think I’m very undeserving of it. . . . As Catholics, we believe that in confession the slate of our sins is wiped clean. and that’s just incredible, a grace.

A male participant expressed a similar sentiment about feeling a difference before and after confession: “Every time I go to confession, nothing is required of me except to repent, to be restored to this relationship of grace with God.... It’s a huge difference before and after. I feel that the guilt is removed, it really makes a difference in how you approach life.”

Prayer and meditation

Twenty-six participants discussed prayer and/or meditation. The form of prayer discussed most often was contemplative prayer, such as the examination of conscience. One woman reflected on her experience of engaging in the examen:

You go over your day and you say what you are grateful for, where you responded to God, and where you hadn’t responded to God’s love, and you make a resolution. . . . The Catholic tradition is always inviting us into deeper contemplative prayer . . . it is how I interpret grace in the sense of God giving us His grace versus us reaching for it.

A young man also talked about the importance of the examen in his spiritual life and how it assists him in engaging in self-reflection:

. . . like in the examen, I’ve journaled at times and I’ll be praying and then I’ll come to something that I’ll stick to or that like really sticks out in my mind and I’ll write it down and then I can start praying over that one idea more, almost like a little Lectio Divina. . . . It just helps me come to a more receptive and listening attitude to hear what’s trying to be said to me about these topics [grace] and reveal something to me. Why did these stand out? Or, in this situation where you weren’t the best version of yourself, what really happened there?

One man described what Lectio Divina is to him and how it is related to God’s grace:

Whatever God calls you to focus on, you repeat that in your heart . . . it’s interesting because sometimes I’ll just start doing it subconsciously. . . . I look throughout my day and God’s grace has allowed me to reflect on that and it draws me closer to Him.

For others, engaging in more visual forms of prayer can be helpful in connecting to God’s grace. For instance, individuals can engage in the Stations of the Cross, a 14-step Catholic devotion that honors and observes Jesus’ last day on Earth utilizing small icons or images, starting with Jesus’ condemnation (Catholic Online, n.d. ). One man described this religious ritual in his interview:

It is 14 stations of Christ’s crucifixion, and you pause at each one where the women meet Him and where one man has helped carry the cross and He’s crowned with his thorns . . . you say prayers . . . you can kind of feel good based on those and come out feeling that you’re full of grace or you have received grace.

Another form of visual prayer that is a part of Ignatian spirituality is composition of place. One female participant described this type of imaginative prayer and how it had helped her in her prayer journey:

You read a Scripture passage and usually read it a couple of times, and then you imagine yourself in the scene. . . . Sometimes you notice things or imagine things that you wouldn’t necessarily expect, and also sometimes the scene doesn’t end up playing out the way it does in the Scripture. . . . Entering into a place of imagination and allowing things just to unfold rather than thinking about them, or like meditating on the meaning of a particular passage or Scripture but just sort of allowing things to unfold and to experience them, [be] present to them, is really a wonderful way of praying that I think can be really profound. . . . I do try to imagine all the meanings and possibilities, and so to have something like “I didn’t think about that before” or “I experienced that in a different way than I expected” has been really great.

Moreover, in the Catholic tradition the majority of prayers are to God; however, Jesus’ mother, Mary, is also an important figure in regard to prayer. Many Catholics ask Mary for intercession in their prayer lives. By asking for Mary’s intercession, believers can request assistance in forgiveness, an important component of grace. One woman recited and discussed the Hail Mary prayer that comes from Luke 1:28–42:

“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you amongst all women and blessed is the fruits of your womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God” . . . “pray for us now and at the hour of our death.”

Grace experienced through saints

Fifteen participants discussed how they tangibly experienced God’s divine grace through the saints. Generally, the participants expressed respect for the saints and conveyed gratitude for the ways in which saints modeled how to live in God’s grace. For instance, one woman described how saints are good examples for those in the Catholic church:

The saints are a very good example of the things that we’re able to do through God’s grace . . . they were never perfect individuals, but they were fallen humans who were able to allow God’s grace to work to the fullest extent in their own lives. . . . They had sinned very heavily in their lives but still were able to come to a point where they were able to experience God’s grace in their lives.

The participants were able to tangibly experience God’s grace through the saints as they connected to their humanity. For example, one man described how he could identify with St. Teresa of Calcutta (i.e., Mother Teresa):

Saints are so important to me because I can connect to their humanity, like when Mother Teresa and those letters came out where it said like she doubted sometimes that God was with her and she was frustrated with God. . . . Mother Teresa did everything she did and struggled. . . . I pray to Mother Teresa, or I pray to Jesus, kind of like a friend, like, “I’m in it now, and if you’re able to be here with me it would help.” So, I see God kind of like disseminating through people and being with me through different people.

It was evident that the teachings and experiences of the saints were influential to the personal and spiritual aspects of the participants. One woman described how Saint Teresa’s teachings helped her understand God’s grace and divine mercy:

Saint Teresa also has this little line that says, “Do all things with great love.” . . . It is not up to us to make change; it is not up to us to be perfect because we never will be. . . . When I am down on myself . . . I have been told and believe that God is more concerned with my attempt, with the condition of my heart. That’s the kind of father He is, so if that’s the case, obviously His grace is going to do the rest.

Further, the saint that was discussed the most throughout the interviews was St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun and an apostle of Divine Mercy. One woman described in detail Lady Faustina’s significance in the Catholic church:

She experienced a lot of intimate episodes with Jesus Christ, a lot of moments of just feeling pure love and just grace. . . . He came to her in a vision. . . . He wanted to let her know to pray a prayer every time at three o’clock. . . . You say, “Eternal Father, I offer you the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world” . . . and then you say, “For the sake of His sorrowful passion have mercy on us and on the whole world.” and you say that 10 times.

Later, she went on to discuss how St. Faustina’s prayer personally helps her experience grace:

I think that’s a great example of God’s grace and mercy falling on everyone, not just when we pray this prayer. . . . Sometimes I fall short of other prayers that I do, but I am very faithful to that particular prayer because it does really orient my heart towards God’s grace and the richness of God’s grace if we’re all really aware of it and open to receiving it.

The Divine Mercy Chaplet helps her participate in God’s grace because it reminds her of God’s vulnerability and Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

The study aimed to develop a more robust conceptual framework surrounding the experience of divine grace as it is an ongoing aspect of Catholic life. The findings must be interpreted with the limitations noted below in mind. Nonetheless, the interviews reiterated the importance of grace in the lives of Catholics. The meta-theme in this study was tangible grace. The results suggested that these Catholics tangibly experience and perceive God’s grace. For these participants, grace is not just an abstract theological concept but a concrete element that can be embodied and interacted with powerfully. The meta-theme of tangibility makes the Catholic experience of grace distinct from that of Protestants. The religious rituals and practices of Catholicism (e.g., the Eucharist, confession, saints, good works) make God’s grace tangible and embodied, whereas grace in Protestant traditions is often more subjective. Having a tangible means to access God’s grace was experienced as valuable to the participants as they perceived it to allow for a more intimate connection with God. These powerful means of intimacy (e.g., the Eucharist) can be important for many Catholics and play a prominent role in Catholics’ spiritual identity and personal relationship with God.

First, various characteristics of divine grace (i.e., salvific grace, cooperation through free will, primacy of conscience) were identified. Participants described God’s grace as a gift to all humanity that provides salvation. This grace was described as needing to be cooperated with through humanity’s free will (e.g., engaging in good works). Generally, these participants argued that as long as people are making moral decisions, people can achieve grace and an afterlife in heaven because of the Catholic belief of the primacy of conscience. Second, three mechanisms for experiencing God’s grace (i.e., sacraments, prayer and meditation, and saints) were indicated. Participants emphasized the importance of the Eucharist and confession, engaging in contemplative prayer (e.g., examen, Lectio Divina), and looking to saints as models of God’s grace.

Comparison to existing literature

Divine grace is a central theological concept that has received relatively little attention in the psychological literature. Several studies over recent years have attempted to measure self-report experiences of God’s grace in the context of Christianity (Bronte & Wade, 2012 ; Bufford et al., 2015 , 2017 ; Emmons et al., 2017 ; Judd et al., 2020 ; Sytsma et al., 2018 ). However, these studies have not focused explicitly on Catholics and have not addressed the unique aspects of how Catholics experience grace. Thus, this study fills an important gap in the psychology of religion literature. Within this study, divine grace was understood as the extraordinary gift of redemption and forgiveness of sins from God offered to everyone who decides to acknowledge and accept it (Barclay, 2015 ; Emmons et al., 2017 ; McMinn et al., 2006 ). Humanity did not do anything to earn the gift of grace, and it cannot be earned. However, the gift of grace creates a bond of obligation and carries an expectation of obedience to God in return (Barclay, 2015 ).

The most critical theme in the study was tangible grace. These Catholics experienced divine grace not as a mysterious theological concept but as an embodied aspect of religious life that could be interacted with powerfully. The tangibility of God’s grace within Catholic rituals and practices (e.g., the Eucharist, saints, confession, good works) appeared to make God’s grace more objective and easier to interact with throughout the lifespan. One essential finding was that the sacrament of confession played a significant role in experiencing God’s grace. The current study’s findings are consistent with McKay et al. ( 2013 ), who found that confession promoted prosocial behavior, especially for individuals who believed in divine judgment and those who engaged in spiritual practices such as praying and reading Scripture.

Additionally, the results of the current study emphasized the importance of cooperating with God’s grace freely through free will by engaging in good works. Theologians such as Barclay ( 2015 ) use the language of “obligation,” though many in the study described interacting with God’s grace as an opportunity that should be actively chosen daily. This distinction between freely participating with God’s grace and having an obligation to engage with God’s grace is important. This idea is also evident in a study by Warner et al. ( 2015 ) that examined the associations between making a charitable donation and duty to God, community expectations, and perceptions of God’s grace among Catholic parish members. The interviews revealed that “God’s grace and deservingness prompted thoughts of charity and... duty to God did not” (p. 204). Helping others was not considered a duty to God or a requirement of the faith; rather, it was considered a choice to “live as God tells them” (p. 200). Confession and good works were valuable and tangible means to experiencing God’s grace. Similar to the study by Warner et al. ( 2015 ), these spiritual practices were often described not as obligations but as unique opportunities for Catholics to grow in their relationship with God.

Limitations

It is important to note the limitations of the study. First, the generalizability was limited by the participants’ demographics. The majority of the participants were from Southern California (82.76%) and identified as being White (55.17%) or Hispanic or Latino (34.48%). Catholics are relatively dispersed throughout the United States, with only 26% living in the West, and they come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds that differ from White and Hispanic or Latino (i.e., 3% Asian, 3% Black, 2% mixed or Native American; Pew Research Center, 2015 ). Thus, these demographics do not demonstrate the cultural diversity of Catholics. Second, the inclusion criteria required participants to engage in their faith communities regularly (e.g., partaking in communion weekly; participating in confession annually). This inclusion criterion ensured that the participants were more religious and were able to thoroughly describe their religious and spiritual experiences using Catholic theology and terminology. However, it did not give voice to those who might be less involved in the church. Last, this study was conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic, which limited the participants’ spiritual practices (e.g., they could not attend Mass, could not partake in the Eucharist or confession), and some indicated it impacted their spiritual and mental well-being.

Nonetheless, this study significantly contributes to the growing body of literature that explores and defines divine grace in the lives of Catholics. Understanding the role of divine grace in the Catholic faith is valuable as there are often misconceptions surrounding the Catholic understanding of grace and works. These findings support the need for further empirical exploration of divine grace, especially in the lives of Catholics.

Author Contribution

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Hunter B. Harwood and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

This work was supported by Grant 61304 from the John Templeton Foundation to Peter C. Hill, PI.

Data Availability

Declarations.

Researchers received ethical approval from the institutional human rights in research committee at Biola University.

All participants signed and completed an informed consent before the interviews.

Data is anonymous and did not require special permission for publication.

Researchers have no known conflicts of interest to disclose.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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What it Means to Grow in Grace and 4 Ways to Do It

"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen." - 2 Peter 3:18

The Bible talks about grace as what is often summarized as “unmerited favor.” Instead of being based on our good behavior or lack of it, it is based on God’s incredible goodness and unconditional love for us. But how do we grow in it?

Ephesians 2 says that “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works , so that no one may boast” ( Ephesians 2:4-9 , emphasis added).

Interestingly, Paul includes one more verse after this incredible description about our salvation by grace, lest anyone object to the idea of grace by cautioning that people receiving it will just take it for granted and live sinful, selfish lives. He reminds believers: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” ( Ephesians 2:10 ). God’s grace is not bestowed on us because  of our good works, but it is bestowed on us to enable us to do the good works that God had in mind for us to do before the creation of the world!

What Does it Mean to Grow in Grace? 

In his second letter, Peter shares with his readers that God’s grace makes possible a godly life and that are to grow in that grace. By the power of God’s grace being applied to the believer through the indwelling Holy Spirit, growth is possible even when faced with false teachings and other hardships. At the end of the letter, Peter states that “according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells” ( 2 Peter 3:13 ), and then spends the last few verses instructing believers on what to do in the meantime. In conclusion he says: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” ( 2 Peter 3:18 ). It’s a beautiful idea, but how does one do this practically?

John Gill's Commentary on 2 Peter 2:18 puts it this way:  In the gifts of grace, which, under a divine blessing, may be increased by using them: gifts neglected decrease, but stirred up and used, are improved and increase... There is such a thing as growth in grace, in this sense; every grace, as to its act and exercise, is capable of growing and increasing; faith may grow exceedingly, hope abound, love increase, and patience have its perfect work, and saints may grow more humble, holy, and self-denying: this is indeed God's work, to cause them to grow, and it is owing to his grace; yet saint, should show a concern for this, and make use of means which God owns and blesses for this purpose, such as prayer, attending on the word, and looking over the promises of God, for an increase of faith; recollecting past experiences, and looking to the death and resurrection of Christ for the encouragement of hope, and to the love of God and Christ, for the stirring up of love to both, and to the saints; considering the sufferings of Christ, the desert of sin, and the glories of another world, to promote patience and self-denial, and the pattern of Christ, to excite to humility; though "grace" may also intend the Gospel, the knowledge of which is imperfect, and may be increased in the use of means, and which is a special preservative against error, a growth in which saints should be concerned for: the knowledge of Jesus and his glory.

4 Practical Ways You Can Grow in Grace

In the book of Acts, many people came to know the Lord through the Spirit-empowered preaching of the apostles. The things they did to grow are then described: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” ( Acts 2:42-46 ). This short verse gives us several powerful ways that we can “grow in grace and knowledge.”

1. Devote yourself to teaching. Though the truths of Scripture are simple enough for a child to understand, they are also deep enough that they can be studied for a lifetime without running out of new insights. God’s grace is fully available to us from the moment of salvation, but it takes time to examine our whole lives in light of His whole truth. Devoting ourselves to listening to Scriptural teaching allows us to apply our knowledge of God and our experience of his grace to each and every aspect of our lives.

2. Devote yourself to the life of your church. Gathering together in a fellowship of believers is an important part of living as a Christian, giving us a foretaste of the day that we will all gather together around God’s throne, singing his praises ( Revelation 7:9 ). Hebrews 10:24-25 says: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Being together with other believers gives us the chance to live out the many “one another” verses in the Bible that we simply can’t live out individually. We are meant to be in community as we “grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

3. Devote yourself to breaking bread with others. Living in community with other believers extends beyond church gatherings. It also includes being involved in each other’s daily lives. Peter urges believers to “show hospitality to one another without grumbling” ( 1 Peter 4:9 ). In true hospitality, the focus isn’t on the food but on the sharing of it, enjoying one another’s presence and mutually acknowledging our gratitude to God for his sustaining grace.

4. Devote yourself to prayer. When we devote ourselves to prayer, we connect with God in a moment-by-moment way (not special occasions only). We become more cognizant of his presence and power in our lives. We notice his gifts and are moved to gratitude. We look to him instinctively for his help in our time of need. In short, prayer helps us grow in our awareness of God and so, in a sense, prayer activates his grace in our lives. While God is the ultimate source of our growth and the provider of all that we need for life and godliness ( 2 Peter 1:3 ), our participation is essential, and prayer is the way that we begin to use  the vast and amazing grace which has been given to us. “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work” ( 2 Corinthians 9:8 ).

At the moment of salvation, we are given unmerited favor and unconditional love that causes our souls to sing:

Grace, grace, God's grace Grace that will pardon and cleanse within Grace, grace, God's grace Grace that is greater than all our sin. - Grace Greater than Our Sin by Julia H. Johnston

But this grace continues to be present, available, and working by the power of the Holy Spirit in us every day of our lives on this earth, empowering us to walk in newness of life ( Romans 6:4 ). We can “grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” ( Ephesians 4:15 ). By growing in our knowledge of Christ and in his abundant grace, we are enabled to live the “abundant life” he came to give us ( John 10:10 ). And his grace doesn’t even end at the end of life! Ephesians 2 says that “in the coming ages” he plans to “show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” ( Ephesians 2:7 ). This is truly amazing grace!

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 first begun. - Amazing Grace by John Newton

A Prayer to Grow in Grace

Lord, thank you for your abundant, abounding grace. Thank you that we don't have to earn a drop of the mighty river of grace that flows freely for us today. Thank you for the unexpected, unmerited favor you've showered on my life. Help me put myself in the path of your love and grace. Guide and nourish me so that I can grow in grace. Help me not neglect the disciplines I need to meet with you regularly and to drink from the water of life. Thank you for your rich love. Amen.

Further Reading

How Getting Hurt by Others Can Actually Help You Grow in Grace

Photo credit:©GettyImages/stock_colors

This article is part of our larger resource library of popular Bible verse phrases and quotes. We want to provide easy-to-read articles that answer your questions about the meaning, origin, and history of specific verses within Scripture's context. We hope that these will help you better understand the meaning and purpose of God's Word in your life today.

• Do Unto Others
• The Truth Will Set You Free
• Guard Your Heart
• Love One Another
• Blessed Are the Meek

Bible Study Questions about Grace

• What is grace in the Bible?

Grace is God’s essential character and the most fundamental premise of the gospel. In biblical terms, grace is the free, undeserved favor of God. 

The word grace in the New Testament comes from the Greek word charis which means kindness and favor towards someone. 

We can learn about what grace is and how it works by studying grace Bible verses in the scripture. Among the many gifts that God gave the world, the biggest grace is the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. 

To understand this, we need to go back to the time before we met Christ. We were sinners who broke God’s laws and for this, we deserved death. But God extended his grace for us by sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross to take our punishment. This sacrifice is what Paul refers to as “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).

The word grace is mentioned in 125 verses in the Bible (ESV) and broadly, it is used with three meanings: grace as the basis of our salvation, grace as our power and way of life and grace as God’s gifts to us. 

Below is an outline you may consider on your Bible study on grace. 

Table of Contents

Grace as the basis of our salvation, grace as our way of life, grace as god’s blessings in our lives, bible study questions about grace, reflection & application questions.

This points to grace as the fundamental reason for our salvation (Ephesians 2:8). This verse reminds us that God’s grace is the only determining factor of our salvation. It’s entirely God’s doing and has nothing to do with our decisions or actions. Our obedience matters, but even the highest obedience cannot guarantee our salvation

The concept of grace is the opposite of karma, where we get what we put in. We don’t get what we deserve, but rather, we get the gift that we don’t deserve.

A major point to remember about the gift of salvation is that it’s absolutely free (Romans 3:24) for us, but is costly to God. He saves us not by just saying a word, but by taking the human form and going into the world to be among us and to die as a human. He became poor so that we could become rich (2 Cor 8:9). This is not a small sacrifice and yet, we receive it entirely free.

Since salvation is dependent on God alone, nobody can say they’re too deep into sin that they cannot be saved. God’s grace is available by grace through faith to all and nobody is unqualified for it.

Once we believe and receive this salvation, the grace of God is our basis for living . Romans 6:14 states that sin no longer has dominion over us because we are not under law but grace. 

But this verse is not a license for us to sin, because grace trains those who have received Jesus: to kill ungodliness and to live godly lives, zealous for good deeds as we wait for the coming of Jesus (Titus 2:12-14). Grace brings us salvation but it doesn’t stop there. Grace trains us to live a new life that is pleasing to God. 

“Thus you see that grace has its own disciples. Are you a disciple of the grace of God? Did you ever come and submit yourself to it?” (Spurgeon)

Titus 2:12-14 shows us that a life lived under true grace will be righteous. God’s work in our life changes us radically. It’s incompatible for a new creation to live comfortably with habitual sin. 

“The grace that does not change my life will not save my soul.” – credited to Spurgeon.

Grace also becomes our mission . We are called to testify to the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24) and as God sent Jesus, Jesus sends us to spread the gospel to the world. Every single believer is on a mission to be a witness to God’s grace.

Humankind and the world enjoy goodness such as sunrise, nature, air, conscience etc. This is often referred to as God’s common grace – the blessings that are given to everyone. 

On the other spectrum, there’s special grace or saving grace – God’s favor upon those who are chosen. An example of this is God’s salvation and also the Holy Spirit that God sent to dwell in the hearts of believers.

John Piper says “Grace is not simply leniency when we have sinned. Grace is the enabling gift of God not to sin. Grace is power, not just pardon.” Through God’s grace, we are capable of taking the steps to avoid sin. Paul says in 1 Cor 15:10 that he is who he is due to God’s grace and he “ worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” God’s grace supplies Paul with energy and discipline in his life.

God’s gifts to believers are meant to be shared with others and not used only for his/her own advantage. In 1 Peter 4:10, we, as God’s stewards, are encouraged to cultivate the gifts that we have to serve others. Whether we have the gift of generosity, hospitality or teaching, we are called to use them to lift others.

This is highlighted again in 2 Cor 9:8 – that God is able to bless us with grace so that having sufficiency in all times, we may abound in every good work.

God’s grace can also come in the form of a specific calling. In Eph 3:8 Paul states his calling to preach Christ to the gentiles as grace. 

Here are some questions to discuss in your thematic study about grace:

Can you lose God’s grace?

• John 3:16: whoever believes in him has eternal life
• John 10:27-28: God gives eternal life to his sheep and they shall never perish or snatched out of God’s hand
• Ephesians 1:13: when we hear and believe the gospel, we are marked with a seal of the Holy Spirit, who’s a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance

How about believers that live in habitual sin? Can they lose God’s salvation grace?

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God (ESV).

Does grace manifest only in good things? Or can grace be seen through difficulties?

• Sometimes God allows bad things to happen in our lives to prepare us for bigger things in life. E.g. Joseph was sold by his brothers as a slave and imprisoned and his life prepared him to become Pharaoh’s right-hand man and he blesses Israel through that role
• Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (ESV). This verse explains how bad things happen so God’s grace can be shown to others.
• Discipline is also part of God’s grace. Hebrews 12:11: for the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (ESV)

Is God’s mercy infinite? Can it run out?

• Lamentations 3:22-23 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (ESV)
• John 1:16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace (ESV)

What’s the difference between grace and mercy?

• Exodus 34:6 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (ESV)
• Mercy is withholding a punishment that is deserved or a very bad thing that someone could do to you, but does not
• Grace gives a good thing that is not deserved

Is grace unmerited? Are there things that we can do to get more grace?

• The gift of salvation is free and unmerited, we can’t earn it
• But we can position ourselves to receive God’s blessings – e.g. the joy and peace knowing that we have an all-powerful God loving us – can be obtained through communion with God. Through Bible reading and prayer. In short, there are things that we can do to flourish as Christians.
• 2 Peter 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (ESV)
• We cannot get more grace, but we can grow in grace
• We can turn on the faucet, but we can’t make the water flow. God’s grace is like that – there’s ongoing supply but we can access it by turning the faucet on
• Blessings in the Christian life can flow when we have obedience

Does grace mean we’re free to sin?

Romans 6:1-2 6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? (ESV)

What are some examples of common grace and saving grace?

• Common grace: conscience, nature, sun, moral values
• Saving grace: the gospel of good news, the Holy Spirit, God’s grace at work in our lives

What is the definition of means of grace?

• Ways in which God gives grace: the Word. John Frame explains them as “channels by which God gives spiritual power to his church).
• This includes God’s Word, meditation, prayer, fellowship and even suffering

What does the Bible have to say about giving yourself grace?

• 2 Cor 12:9: But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (ESV)
• The Bible points to God as the provider of all the grace we need for our lives, so we must go back to him to access grace

How does operating under grace different from the law?

Law constricts us and demands unattainable perfection, grace frees us to do good in the world

What does the Bible say about showing grace to others?

• Eph 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (ESV)
• Luke 6:27-28 But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. (ESV)
• Describe a time when you need God’s grace the most. How did it turn out?
• From this discussion, what is the biggest thing you learn about God? His character, plan, values, promises, desires and ways?
• What do you learn about yourself and others in this world?
• How should I change my thinking or living based on today’s discussion?
• How should I pray in light of what I’ve learned about grace?
• What promise of God that I need to meditate on?
• How does this discussion change the way I engage with my friends? What are some ways that you could extend grace to others?
• For all the changes that need to happen above – what are the hurdles that will need to be overcome? How do I overcome that?

Source: David Guzik commentaries and interlinear studies from blueletterbible.org, www.desiringgod.com

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