Three Sources of Grace

February 7, 2008 categories:  Christian Articles

What is Grace?

Any first year bible student or relatively new Christian can probably tell you that Grace is “unmerited favor.” That’s an awesome definition because it tells us that we get to be God’s favorite, even though we could never deserve it. But, Grace can do more. Grace actually enables me to obey God, not just receive his unmerited favor.

Grace is like fuel for the engine. It allows me to move down the road towards God’s high calling for my life. In Ephesians 3:7 Paul says “I became a servant to this gospel by grace…” The King James Version actually says “I was made a minister by grace.” Verse 8 goes on to say that Paul actually preaches the Gospel by grace, even though he was less than the least of all God’s people.

Grace enables you to both receive your calling and have supernatural power to reach the high mark that Jesus has set for you. Cool. That’s powerful stuff. I need to get me some of that. But how?

There are several ways that God can administer his grace to the individual, and we’re going to look at a few of them here.

1. From the Lord. This is no great stretch of the imagination. If you asked most people where grace comes from, they would probably tell you that it comes from the Lord. John 1:17 proves it: ” For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

2. From Anointed People. God actually uses the giftings of the five fold ministry (Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, and Evangelists) to impart grace to individuals. Ephesians chapter 4: 7,11 says “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it…It was He who gave to some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors, and some to be teachers.” And, here’s the kicker in verse 12: “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” We’ve already discovered that the equipping for ministry is a work of grace. Now we see that God can use the five fold ministry gifts as a tool to impart that grace.

3. The body of Christ. Verse 29 of Ephesians 4 goes on to show us how our communication with one another can actually administer the grace of God: “Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God’s favor) to those who hear it. (AMP)”

Cool. There’s a nearly inexhaustible supply of references to grace in the New Testament. I encourage you to dig in and find some stuff on your own, and then share it with us here on the website.

P.S. I believe in giving credit where credit is due, so it must be said that I gained much of the insight for this teaching from Bill Johnson of the Bethel Church in Redding, CA.