Five Eternal Gifts from God - Grace 12

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—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. (Ephesians 2:4-7, ESV)                    

What is the purpose of all God has done? God’s purpose is so that throughout all eternity, God will display His exceedingly great and abundant grace in saving sinners like you and me. This grace is through the kindness God has given us through Jesus Christ.

What conclusions may we draw from this all too brief examination of God’s grace towards sinners? First, grace is not an impersonal substance. Grace is the personal attitude and action of God in saving sinners through Jesus Christ when sinners deserve the opposite. Without the phrase “who deserve the very opposite” grace is nothing more than God’s warm wishes that make us feel better as we suppress the truth about ourselves. Only when we encounter God as He truly is do we finally know ourselves as we truly are – and only then grace be truly grace.

Second, grace is the source of the pardon of sin. The grace of God transforms a condemned criminal, who has broken God’s law thousands of times and who is awaiting a terrible judgment into an heir waiting a fabulous and eternal inheritance. Romans 3:24 states that we are justified (declared righteous) freely by His (God’s) grace.

Third, grace is the motive of God’s plan for salvation. Ephesians 1:3-1 is an extended paragraph which summarizes the work of the Trinity with recurring phrase “to the praise of His glorious grace.” (Ephesians 1:5, 11, 14).

Finally, grace is the guarantee of the preservation of the saints. Each and every believer is kept by God by the power of God through faith unto salvation (I Peter 1:5).

 Therefore, beginning to grasp the enormity of God’s disrupting and disorienting grace should impact my worship, my time in His Word, my attitude, my lifestyle, my relationships with other people, my work ethic, and my trust in God through the struggles have I encountered, am encountering and will encounter. May it be so because of His grace.