This Thing Called Grace
“Amazing Grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch; like me!
I once was lost, but now I am found,
Was blind, but now I see.”
What is this thing called Grace? I want to describe it as the encapsulation of God’s mercy, kindness, empowerment, and love poured so generously on mankind. Through the Grace of God, we can be recipients of the gift of salvation. However, can a befitting description or explanation of salvation be given without acknowledging and understanding God’s Grace? I believe not because, just as a car’s engine needs ignition before it can move, so was the Grace of God needed to ignite salvation. Grace was the precursor, the causation of the precious gift of salvation. We can see this in John 3:16, NKJV.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
“For God so loved…”. It started with love, that which is locked in the very essence of Grace. Furthermore, Romans 5:8, NKJV says “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us“. This means that even while we deserved God’s wrath, God’s mercy was initiated on mankind, and a pathway for redemption was paved. There was nothing that man did to stir up God’s love and mercy, which was displayed by the death of Christ on the cross. This is Grace. “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 should boast” Ephesians 2:8-9, NKJV.
Can I mention what else Grace did? We were not only redeemed through the blood of Christ but also adopted! There is a considerable difference between the concept of redemption and adoption. When something is redeemed, that thing is rendered neutral. Debt-free and not owing. In terms of the balance scale, something that is redeemed is neither in the negative nor in the positive. It is neutral. Christ redeemed us by His blood, paying the debt we owed. The blood of Jesus was the currency for which our debt was paid. God could’ve stopped there, restoring reconciliation with man. However, in the richness of His kindness, God went further to adopt us. Making us heirs!
He is bringing us into the economy of inheritance and acceptance through Christ. Now, adoption brings us to the positive in the balance scale, with man having much to gain. This is Grace. We can see this in Ephesians 1:5-6, NKJV “..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 made us accepted in the Beloved“. Note that He adopted us as ‘sons’. In Greek, this refers to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir. That is the model of adoption through which we are heirs, heirs with full legal standing of our inheritance from God. What is this inheritance? It is that which is “incorruptible, undefiled and does not fade away that is reserved in heaven” 1 Peter 1:3-5, NKJV.
Empowerment can also be found in the capsule of Grace. Hebrews 4:16 says the throne of Grace is that which helps us with our weaknesses and insufficiencies. The preceding verse speaks of our High priest Jesus, who is not ignorant of these insufficiencies but rather one who became man to be the example of one who was not defeated by the weaknesses that trouble man. At the throne of Grace, our High Priest, Jesus Christ, gives us the mercy and Grace needed to empower us to live above the weaknesses that give us into sin.
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 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 4:15-16, NKJV
Prayer: Lord! Thank you for your Grace!
