Ephesians 2:8 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.
Priest Aaron, Moses brother had just said, “The people are disgruntled saying they wish they could hear God too, you know for themselves…Moses response was that would be great. I would that you all could hear God. He was on the mountain, one day hearing from God. He asked him (God, the I AM THAT I AM) about it. He agreed. So, Father God gave instructions to Moses that the people could come up to the mountain with him. But they were not to touch it nor any animal was to touch it. Long story short, the day came when they all went up-to the mountain but it burned with fire, blackness and darkness and tempest was around. God’s voice speaking to the people that sounded like a trumpet. It was such an ordeal and terrible that even Moses said, “I exceedingly fear and quake.” So much so, the people said, “That’s o.k. Moses you go on –meet with God on our behalf…”
I told that story of faith, because the Apostles said the ancient patriarchs wanted to look into the great salvation plan, even the angels wanted to see what it would be. No one knew. It became a main thought that God was out to get us. Instead, he’s Creator and doesn’t want to destroy what he created. Man’s life is like water poured out to the ground and can not be gathered up again. Instead century and millennium after millennia, He kept the plan going til the time came. All the fingers of history pointed to that time. Prophecy after prophecy foretold of the event announced by a chorus of angels to shepherds tending their flocks. Singing, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!” Apostle John recorded Jesus saying, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.” And again, “I didn’t come to destroy the Law (Old Testament) but to fulfill it.
With that story told, one might ask what does it have to do with grace. Under the Law Moses and the Israelite’s gave a stark contrast to how it is today. Under the law, Moses interacted with a holy God on the people’s behalf. But with the New Covenant came Grace and Truth. John 1:17 puts it like this, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
In the New Covenant God has ordained it to be where we personally become his kids the new birth (born again) as Jesus told Nicodemus and through the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba–the Holy Spirit bearing witness. In Hebrews we recently studied how we can come, “…boldly come to the ‘throne of grace’ because of Jesus our High Priest.
We’re discussing GRACE today. But first let’s review a little to get us all on the same page.
REVIEW
A few weeks back, we did a message as an introductory message I’ve been preparing for new believers, growing and seasoned believers: 5 Wonderful Gifts of Inheritance From God. I say it like that because as a new believer we all need to feed on the sincere milk of the word of God. Additionally, as a shepherding teacher I lay a foundation upon the same foundation of Christ and the early Apostles that is sure to bless our growing and seasoned believer or any disciple of Christ, young or Elder. I’ve been a believer for over twenty years and the great Teacher is still revealing and renewing my faith. After all, the Hebrew writer encourages us that He is the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Then as growing and seasoned believers, it’s spiritually healthy to revisit these foundational truths and the doctrine of Christ.
Hence, the five wonderful gifts of Salvation, Eternal Life, Grace, Holy Spirit, Righteousness. Today I am teaching about the Gift of Grace. We have two more gifts in this mini-series, the gift of eternal life and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Simply put, Grace is God’s unmerited favor and blessings. Meaning it’s a gift that we don’t deserve. As a way of teaching to make it easy to remember, there are twelve top elements or kinds of grace that I have seen in Scripture and experienced in my life and observed in the lives of others. Those who know me, you would be proud to see that I resisted putting it in an acronym. So, I’ll cover it in two parts.
12 Elements of the Gift of Grace
SAVING GRACE – We start with God’s saving grace. It is not something we work up. In the five gifts, salvation was the first one. In God’s great salvation plan, Ephesians 2:8–9 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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Many places in Scripture, we are saved by GRACE is said often.
Acts 15:10–11 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.
ABOUNDING GRACE – I love the expansive, growing, multiplying language the inspired writers use to describe the things of God and faith. You know like exceedingly abundantly above what we’ve asked or imagined… or give and it will be given to you pressed down, shaken together, running over will it be given into your lap. So, why are we surprised when we realize that sin is increasing in the world, we can know that much more grace is abounding. Romans 5:20–21 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And again, 2 COR. 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
PERFECTING (MATURING) GRACE – 2 Corinthians 12:9–10 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. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
When you are young in the faith, you can know that God will not put more on you than you can bear. When you ask for a piece of bread (provision) He’s not going to give you a spider on your plate. His grace is enough for you to make it anytime, anywhere and anyhow. For most growing and seasoned believers its the same for us too. But God’s expectation is different. Father is already training us for righteousness by grace. For us its like our kids with driving a car. We can know when the teen-ager is ready to drive and be responsible for a vehicle. God also knows when its time for more weighty matters in our life, simply put our next level.
HELPING GRACE – This kind of the Grace of God is one of my personal favorites. The Helping Grace signifies how much more we have a better covenant–New Covenant called the New Testament. We’ll hear more about this NEW COVENANT in the Covenants of Promise. Remember we started our teaching today with Moses, Aaron, Miriam and the Israelites at the foot of the mountain ablaze, darkness and tempest winds hearing from Father God. The people were afraid and even Moses, the most humble man on earth said he trembled and was afraid. Yet he and some heard from God and the others just heard thunder and the loud rumbling. Now listen, how after the Cross, Christ Ultimate Sacrifice, Resurrection and His Ascension to being seated at the right hand of the Father changed everything. The Hebrews writer in chapter 4:15–16 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the father, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
GRADUATING GRACE – John 1:16–17 For from his fullness (THE GODHEAD) we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. We go from level to level and from glory to glory and line by line, precept by precept, here a little and there a little. Father God is a progressive God. He spoke the world into existence. For example, he said, “Let there be light…and so on to all creation was created.” Scientist say the universe(s) are still expanding. God’s word is still going.
RECOMPENSING GRACE– Jeremiah 51:56 …The God of Recompense. Father God is a rewarding God. He elevates; He lifts up. He rewards his children and servants. And not only that, through Christ, we can know him as Jehovah Gmolah, the God of Recompense. He said, “I always recompense. Vengeance is Mine. I will repay. There is the Wrath of God – Eternal Judgment, which we will discuss in the Christian Foundation class for New, Growing And Seasoned Believers.
But for now, we are talking about Father God intent toward his children and servants. He has a reward of your faith for you, something that’s tailored for YOU. When you partner with Him and build faith or build character, he rewards you for that. Remember, earlier when we talked about how trials produce patience (perseverance) and then patience produces character and character produces hope…
And not just spiritually but also in the here and now, he blesses you. It’s his way to trouble those that trouble you. In a similar way, he repays us for the trouble we’ve seen and walked through. I encourage you to raise your expectancy level to receive recompense for a long wait on a promise or the trials and troubling circumstances you’ve been going through.
It’s a difficult thing to understand (trying to keep from saying it’s a mystery) You know when it says when you are being persecuted heavily, lied on, talked about, hated, rejoice, you may as well do a little jig. Ok, so here’s another one Apostle James wrote, when you fall into different trials and troubles or multiple ones, rejoice again I say rejoice. Why do you think, we’re told to rejoice? It’s certainly not because it always feels good or so convenient for us to go through difficult seasons…Yes, we are exercising our faith to receive a blessing on the other side of it. But it’s also because He ALWAYS does it. He will always recompense.
To sum up today’s lesson, we’ve started the journey discovering and re-discovering the Gift of Grace. We covered the first six: Saving Grace – by Grace we are saved, Abounding Grace – All grace abounds to us, Maturing Grace – Your grace is sufficient for us, Helping Grace – Knowing we can go to the throne of Grace, Graduating Grace – Grace to go from level to level and glory to glory and Recompensing Grace – God’s grace that rewards and pays us back for troubles we’ve seen in ways tailored just for YOU. See you next week! God bless.
End of Blog
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