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Grace is favor, generosity with intent to please and/or to meet a need. The providing of what cannot be gotten in any other way. You might say intentional generosity.
First of all, in order to understand grace, you’ve got to get your understanding out of the realm of religion. Let’s understand what grace is in normal, everyday life. Then, when we see it in the Bible, it will mean something to our normal, everyday life.
Grace exists all around us, and comes not only from God, but from others also.
The Greek word for grace is charis. Other related words are gift or favor (charisma) and thankfulness (eucharisma).
Charisma is the expression of charis. The gift given out of generosity.
Eucharisma is the visceral effect charisma has in one who willingly receives it. In fact, in Aramaic, “thankfulness” is literally “acceptance of a kindness.”
Let’s say I have a son, who is going away to college. He will need to be able to get there to school (and back), as well as to move around while at school. But he has no car. Out of my generosity, and in order to meet this need, I give him a car. That is grace. Intentional generosity….doing for my son what he could not do for himself. What do I want in repayment? Only that he enjoy the use of my gift, and the closer, more intimate relationship that will come between us because of his thankfulness for it.
Luke 2:40,52 And the child (Jesus) grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor (charis) with God and man.
Speaking of Jesus, God’s Word says that God’s favor, His intentional generosity was upon him. Jesus also grew in favor with God and man. He was able to receive more and more of his Father’s generosity. The older my own children get, the more I’m able to do for them because the more they’re able to receive. What good would there be in me giving a car to my 2-year old?
Romans 1:5. By whom (Jesus Christ) we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name;
By Jesus Christ we have received (lambano – taken unto ourselves) charis.
Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by His (God’s) grace (charis – intentional generosity), through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
“Justified” means there is no deserving of punishment….the scales of justice are balanced. If a homicide was not justifiable, then the one who did the killing would have to be punished in order to balance the scales of justice.
Yes we sinned, but we do not deserve punishment, or consequence, because the scales of justice (for that sin) are completely balanced in Christ.
What about repentance? It means to change ones thinking. (Literally, “repent” is “to think after”). Regarding our sin, we need to change our thinking. We can never, ever be justified of our sin apart from Christ. And in Christ (who is a gift of God’s generosity), there is never ever any punishment for sin.
This is different from the Old Testament !!!!!
Romans 4:1-5 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he has a reason to glory; but not before God. For what says the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that works is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that works not, but believes on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
This section is a good clarification of grace versus works (trying to deserve)…..of justified vs. condemned.
Romans 5:2 By whom (Jesus Christ) also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
We believe on Jesus Christ (actively, now) and his faith gives us access into God’s intentional generosity and it’s in this grace that we stand (mentally, emotionally, in our belief of who we are and what we deserve) and rejoice in hope of the glory (full unhindered expression) of God.
This brings up another wonderful topic. The glory of God. From Rom 5:2 above, we can see that God will never be fully expressed, without hindrance, in and through our lives unless and until we are willing to receive His pleasure-intentioned generosity. God wants to please us, and until we are willing to be pleased by God’s generosity, He will not be able to fully express Himself in us and through us toward others. WOW!
Romans 6:14. For sin shall not have dominion over you; for you are not under the law, but under grace.
Go ahead, the next time you meet a self-professed Christian. Ask him/her, “So, do you keep the 10 commandments?” My answer? No. Because I’m not under them. I’m all about exploring, discovering and living in God’s superabundant generosity toward me.
This verse is telling us that the way to escape from the power of sin over our lives cannot be found in living under the rule of the law, but only by living under the rule of grace.
Ephesians 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Since we are greeted by grace, let us endeavor to live out our lives in that grace.
Ephesians 1:5,6 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, To the praise of the glory of His grace, in which He has made us highly favored in the Beloved.
Ahead of time, God decided that we (who chose to believe on Jesus Christ) would be His children (“adoption” because we’d already been alive for a while, before we became His children at the time of being birthed by His spirit). This was motivated by “the good pleasure of his will” which is a full and unhindered expression of his very intentional generosity, in which generosity God made us highly favorable (this “new creation” has the very nature of generosity itself). All this is in Christ!
Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
Our restored value, which happened when the debt of our sin was discharged in Christ, came totally by God’s overabundant generous intention to please us. The only acceptable (to Him) response can be to allow ourselves to be affected by this generosity (walk thankfully in what God has given us and made us to be).
Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come, He might show (exhibit) the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
God generously did all He did through Jesus Christ for us (forgiving us, making us His children, giving us an eternal inheritance, etc.), with the intention and for the purpose of of exhibiting toward us, in all the ages to come, beginning now and going on forever, the “hyper-abounding riches of his pleasure-intentioned generosity” in kindness toward us by means of Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:8, 9a For by grace are you saved through faith; and that (faith) not of yourselves; it (the faith of Jesus Christ) is the gift of God. (It is) not of (your own) works…..
Ephesians 3:2 If you have heard of the administration of the grace of God which was given to me for you.
To Paul was given the administration of the grace of God to and for us. This is why Paul’s writings are the most important in the Bible, as far as we who are living today are concerned.
Read the rest of chapter 3 in Ephesians to see more illumination of God’s true and graceful intentions toward us.
Ephesians 6:24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
Just love Jesus Christ. Just believe on him. And see what God will do in and for and through you.
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Related studies are:
On Grace, Gifts and Thankfulness
An Un-Polluted Gospel
The Mystery of Christ
Fruitfulness in Christ – Colossians 1:1-15
IN CHRIST – what does it mean?
