Multifaceted Grace: God's grace strengthens

Recently I have been studying the word grace and did you know it is used over 120 times in the New Testament alone? Grace permeates the life of a follower of Christ. It is not only for salvation but for a lifetime of sanctification and sustaining power. And here is the best part, our heavenly Father offers it to us freely. Grace is not God's blessing for my hard work, instead, grace is God's influence on my heart that sustains and strengthens me to do the work He has prepared for me to do. I’ve heard some people say that we can’t talk too much about grace or people will think it is the removal of consequences or something lavished on us so we can sin willingly.

This is a misunderstanding of what grace truly is. Grace is God's winsome and mighty influence on our lives.

Grace for Salvation

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—

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. (Ephesians 2:4-5,8-10)

It is through God's grace that we can believe (Acts 18:27) and by His grace we are saved. God's grace is truly amazing!!

Grace (Charis): divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in this life; including gratitude

*Greek word in parentheses

Let's break this definition down together so we can grasp the depth and richness of grace's meaning.

• Divine: from God

• Influence: the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something

• Heart: the very center of a person-the place where a person's greatest love and deepest desires are found; the root of our behavior, character, and life choices (Luke 6:45, Proverbs 4:23)

Grace is God's power to draw us to believe in Him, save us, and then affect our character, development, and behavior by influencing the very root from which all of those things stem, our hearts.

After God rescues us, He gives us purpose. We carry a holy calling as His children. This calling isn’t something we receive because of the works we’ve done or things we’ve accomplished, it’s a God-given gift that requires God-given ability. Imagine yourself as a brand-new rock climber and God’s plan for you as a rock wall. Standing before you is a wall as high as your eye can see, steep and unfamiliar. I can’t climb this, you think to yourself, and your right, none of us can. Our call to climb the path God has laid out for us takes continual faith, strength, insight, and endurance that we cannot find in ourselves. You are not climbing to reach God or earn His favor, you are already His and He is supporting you as you climb. We need God‘s grace to help us grow in ability and learn that continual dependence on Him is crucial and life-giving.

Grace Strengthens

1) 2 Corinthians 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.

Sufficient (arkeo): to be possessed of unfailing strength, to be enough; a strength that enables us to bear any evil

*Greek word in parentheses

God was speaking to Paul. Paul had a weakness and the word weakness in this verse means physical or mental infirmity, or a proclivity to sin. No matter what Paul's specific weakness was, God's strength empowered him to live out the work God had prepared for him to do. Paul’s weakness did not exclude him from God’s work because God‘s grace was perfect and complete in Paul’s weakness. Paul continually admitted his need for grace so that powerful, divine influence would make its home in his life and help him overcome and have victory.

2) 2 Timothy 2:1

Strengthened (endynamoo): receive strength, increase in strength, to empower and enable

*Greek word in parentheses

Paul is writing to Timothy. Prior to 2 Timothy 2:1, Paul was encouraging Timothy to stoke up the courage to use the gift God had given him and to remain unashamed of the testimony of their Lord. (see 2 Timothy 1:6-8) How was Timothy supposed to do these things?

By receiving and increasing in the strength that came from the grace found only in Jesus Christ. Notice the definition of the word grace: the divine influence that is reflected in life, including gratitude. Grace helps gratitude to grow in our hearts for the person and work of Jesus and with gratitude, our love and affection for Him increase. With His death, He gave us life! Paul understood something very crucial: through grace, we can unabashedly display our love of our Rescuer, Jesus, and have the courage to do what He has called us to do, because He is our source of power, love, and a sound mind.

We are held and empowered by His grace and this is available to us at any time, for any situation, in times of triumph, and in times of failure. As God's children, we have access to the fullness of His grace that He displayed through Jesus (John 1:14,16).

3) Hebrews 13:9 (see Romans 14, specifically vs. 17)

Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.

Good (kalos): beautiful, chiefly good, valuable and virtuous

*Greek word in parentheses

This scripture is emphasizing something very important. God's grace is what truly strengthens and changes our hearts. God's divine grace is chiefly good-meaning it is better for us than anything else, and the most valuable thing we could ever have. Grace is what makes our lives beautiful, turning ashes into beauty and frailty into robustness. Nothing on earth, nothing we do or don't do, can replace the need for God's grace in our lives.

John 1:16

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. For from his fullness, we have all received, grace upon grace (grace coming after grace in a way that never ends or changes)

Grace strengthens us to take the next step, choose what is right, make a difficult decision, speak with wisdom, forgive, and love others as Christ loves us. Picture a rock climber making one move at a time, some moves very difficult, some easier. Grace gives us strength for our entire life climb and for each grasp and foothold along the way. Grace keeps coming...

Grace never fails. God always has more to give. From the absolute perfection of Jesus, we have an ever-flowing, ever-pursuing divine favor that transforms our lives and gives us the strength we need for His work. With God all things are possible.

When we are weak, He is strong-

we have been given grace for salvation and grace for strength.

Sincerely,

Amy