What is Grace?

In the book of Exodus, in chapter 16, it is recorded that the LORD provided the children of Israel with “bread from heaven” (v.4), and that when they saw this life sustaining substance (in v.15), “they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was.” In v. 14 and v. 31 of the same chapter, we are provided with short descriptions of this substance and even though the children of Israel did not know exactly what it was, they gave this sweet substance a name—they “called its name Manna” (v.31).

Similarly, God provides something for us that we can only do our best to describe. It too, is sweet and it also sustains us while we are on our spiritual pilgrimage through the wilderness. We have a difficult time defining exactly what it is, but it too has a name and one that is very often used—I am referring to “grace.” Grace is one of the many subjects that Christians disagree about and one which I feel is little understood by those who use the word the most. But all those who genuinely care about their own eternal destiny and spiritual growth (not to mention the deplorable state of “Christendom”) would do well to re-examine the subject instead of just throwing it into our ever-growing pile of “non-essentials.” This article is an attempt to do just that—to re-examine the topic of grace, and hopefully to assist and encourage others to do so as well. We will try to examine what grace is or is not in light of the New Testament evidence and look at some different ways in which it has been understood.

This writer (a non-denominational Christian), has recently arrived at the personal conviction that the Protestant groups[1] who hold to and teach the concept of grace that came to be established in the camps of the “Magisterial Reformers” (i.e. the Reformed and Lutheran theologians of the 16^th century), have inherited and are passing on an anemic concept of grace. I am convinced that the understanding of grace that is held to and propagated by these groups is an incomplete and distorted understanding of grace that, in effect, denies the power of God[2]. As Alvin J. Beachy writes:

The concept of grace which prevailed within the Magisterial Reformation was inseparably linked with [the Augustinian concept] of predestination and the bondage of the will. Within this framework, grace [when viewed] from God’s side is the eternal decrees of [the Augustinian concept of] divine election. From man’s side it is God’s act of forensic justification wherein the righteousness of the Christian becomes the imputed righteousness of Christ. Where grace is understood in this manner, spiritual health or wholeness is not something that becomes possible within this world. The Christian is throughout life both justified and sinner. He stumbles through this life as one who is half ill and as one who has the promise that eventually he will be well; but the promise of health is not health itself.

Luther and Calvin were in essential agreement on this forensic view of grace as expressed in the formula, simul justus et peccator [at the same time righteous and a sinner]. The Magisterial Reformers arrived at this concept of grace by reading Paul through the eyes of Augustine. So understood, justification by grace through faith means a change of status before God, who for Christ’s sake regards the sinner as righteous. It does not mean that within this life there is an ontological or metaphysical change in the believer himself.[3]

It is my assertion and conviction that when a person is indoctrinated with the view of grace spoken of in the quote above, they are much more likely to become corrupted in their thinking and to become satisfied with living carnal, worldly lives while constantly appealing to “grace” in order to excuse their lack of cooperation with God in the process of sanctification. For those of us who have been indoctrinated with this view, I believe that it is high time for us to adjust our theology on this subject. So as we examine the Scriptures, we will consider some understandings concerning grace that may be foreign to the average Protestant. The concept of grace that, I believe, is more helpful towards awakening believers to the real possibility of living a victorious Christian life does not so severely separate justification and sanctification as does the traditional Protestant “faith alone” theology[4]. I believe that when we Protestants (meaning non-Roman Catholic, non-Orthodox, non-Coptic Christians) seek to build an impenetrable theological wall between justification and sanctification, it tends to create spiritual stumbling blocks. For this reason, how we understand the concept of grace is a practical matter—it matters, because the way we think affects the way we live, and according to the Scriptures, the way we live affects we will spend eternity—so this is no small issue.

Grace—Christians talk a lot about it, but what is it? The most common definition of “grace” that is given by Protestants is that grace is the unmerited favor of God, and while that is a valid biblical definition of the word, it is not the only meaning. Knowing this, we should not be so hasty to base our theology of salvation on a simplistic, unbalanced or incomplete concept of grace. Because whether we like it or not, “grace” (Gk. charis), as it is used in the New Testament, is a term that is not so easily defined in just a few short words (like “the unmerited favor of God”). As the word “grace” is found being used in the New Testament, it shows itself to be a broad term that does not exactly lend itself to one short and simple, neat and tidy definition. There are various meanings and nuances to the one word “grace” and therefore, the context or the way the word is used must always be taken into account. Let us now consider some examples of the way the word is used in the New Testament Scriptures[5].

 

Grace in the Gospels

As it is listed in my Strong’s concordance (KJV), the English word “grace” occurs four times in the gospels. It occurs once in Luke (2:40) and three times in the first chapter of John (verses 14, 16, 17). In Luke 2:40[6], the word seems to be used to indicate that the “favor” of God rested on Jesus[7] (unless I am mistaken and it contains some other shade of meaning, such as “divine empowerment”). The occurrences in John are as follows:

John 1:14: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:16-17: “And of His fullness [Gk. pleroma] we have all received, and grace for grace. For the Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

Now, admittedly, these verses are not so easy to interpret. In examining the surrounding context, I think most Christians would agree that John seems to teach at least the following concerning the Word: His eternity and divinity (v. 1); His role in the work of creation (v. 3); His incarnation (v. 14); and His self-offering for all mankind (v. 9)—which will enable those who believe in Him to become children of God (v. 12) and sharers in the divine life of Christ (v. 16).

In his Prologue, let us notice that John draws a couple of parallels with Genesis chapter one. First, the opening words are the same (“In the beginning”)—although the Apostle John is referring to eternity past and not simply the beginning of creation. Second, in both Genesis chapter one and John’s Prologue, the creative role of the Word of God is similar. In Genesis, the creative work of God ends with man being created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26), while in John’s Prologue, the work of the incarnate Word ends with man being re-created into a son or daughter of God.

So in John 1:14, we see that the divine Word, the only begotten of the Father, became flesh and that the incarnate divine Word was seen to be full of grace (whatever that means here) and truth. Then in verses 16-17, John writes that “of His fullness we have all received”—he actually writes that followers of Christ participate in the fullness of the Word—that they receive “grace for grace.” When John writes about this “fullness” of Christ that “we have all received”, the Gk word he uses that is translated as “fullness” is pleroma. I believe that when John uses this word, that it is related to Paul’s use of the word in Col 1:19[8] and 2:9[9] and is therefore, in essence, teaching the same doctrine of deification (a.k.a. divinization, theosis, or progressive sanctification) that is found being taught in Scriptures such as 2 Pet 1:2-4[10] and 2 Cor 3:18[11]. And when John speaks of us receiving “grace for grace”, I tend to agree with a couple early writers[12] who comment on this passage and understand it as meaning that under the New Covenant, a new abundance of “grace” has been given to God’s people—that there was an increase of grace from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant.[13]

Let us realize that the Apostle John teaches that this new grace genuinely changes us or at least equips us with the power to change. This new grace (and the Biblical fact that followers of Christ participate in the empowering fullness of God the Word and/or partake of the divine nature) ushers in a type of metamorphosis—which, depending on a person’s lifestyle or disposition before being renewed, is more outwardly noticeable in some than in others, but which is nevertheless a real change (not just an “as if” legal fiction or a mere change of status) that, if nurtured and cooperated with, will be progressive. Concerning those who surrender to Christ, John writes:

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh[14], nor of the will of man[15], but of God. [John 1:12-13 KJV]

When we submit to Jesus as our Lord, we become sons of God and joint heirs with Christ—we are born of God and born (or re-born) into a new family. This new grace of God regenerates us. We become new creations[16]! Now, if this is what the Bible teaches is supposed to happen to God’s children under the New Covenant, but yet so many of those who profess to be “Christians” do not live any differently than the world around them (or are living even worse than unbelievers), and then when their own church’s official or unofficial theology of grace in salvation actually soothes them and makes them feel comfortable in continuing on in the present state of their so-called spiritual life, then it is high time to re-examine that church’s theology. Because, in John 3:3, Jesus spoke to Nicodemus and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”[17]

 

Adjusting Our Theology

In understanding what this grace is, we need not limit ourselves to understanding it as “the unmerited favor of God.” As we will see, grace can be understood as something that benefits. It can be understood as a gift and it is related to spiritual gifts. Grace can also be understood as an enabling power or energy—as in the regenerating, equipping and sustaining power of the Holy Spirit. So while most Protestants have become accustomed to thinking of grace as consisting mainly of a legal change of status before God, I believe that we would see better fruit in our Christian communities if we were to be open-minded enough to look outside the box of Reformed and Lutheran theology for a thought provoking, hope stimulating, deeper, richer, many layered, more ancient[18] concept of grace. For example, Beachy writes this concerning the way that the Anabaptists or Radical Reformers (who were neither Protestant nor Catholic) viewed grace:

Thus, grace is for the Radical Reformers not so much a forensic change in status before God as it is an ontological change within the individual believer. Grace is God’s act whereby He renews the divine image in man through the Holy Spirit and makes the believer a participant in the divine nature. The Radicals did not think that this grace could be earned through any meritorious work. It came as a sheer gift from God. Yet once received, the gift of grace so understood did enable one to rise higher in the scale of Christian perfection than was generally thought possible where the forensic concept of grace prevailed.[19]

The Anabaptists knew full well that as fallen people we desperately need God’s grace, but they insisted that God’s grace both saves and enables. Here are two other short, alternative definitions of “grace” for us to consider that are taken from non-Protestant “ancient church” sources—one Roman Catholic and the other Orthodox:

Grace: The free and undeserved gift that God gives us to respond to our vocation to become his adopted children. As sanctifying grace, God shares his divine life and friendship with us in a habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that enables the soul to live with God, to act by his love. As actual grace, God gives us the help to conform our lives to his will. Sacramental grace and special graces (charisms, the grace of one’s state of life) are gifts of the Holy Spirit to help us live out our Christian vocation. [Taken from the glossary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, pg 881]

Grace: The gift of God’s own presence and action in His creation. Through grace, God forgives sins and transforms the believer into His image and likeness. Grace is not merely unmerited favor—an attitude of God toward the believer. Grace is God’s uncreated ENERGY bestowed in the sacraments and is therefore truly experienced. A Christian is saved through grace, which is a gift of God and not a reward for good works. However, because grace changes a person, he or she will manifest the effects of grace through righteous living. [Taken from the glossary of The Orthodox Study Bible, pg 1781]

Other good, alternate, thought-provoking definitions of grace could be given that are just as valid and Biblical as the commonly heard definition that grace is the “unmerited favor of God.”[20] We could continue to draw good theological statements on grace from non-Protestant sources or we could read about the various meanings and uses of the word from reference books such as unabridged English dictionaries, Greek lexicons, Bible concordances, Bible encyclopedias, Bible dictionaries or theological/expository dictionaries or some other type of Bible study tool (and I would highly recommend that the reader actually do this sometime on his or her own), but there is a more direct way in which we can learn more specifically what grace is and what it is not. We can continue to examine the Scriptures themselves.

 

Grace in the book of Acts

As it is listed in my Strong’s Concordance (KJV), the English word “grace” occurs ten times in the book of Acts (4:33; 11:23; 13:43; 14:3, 26; 15:11, 40; 18:27; 20:24, 32). Upon examining the first three instances (Acts 4:33[21], 11:23[22] and 13:43[23]), we could draw a few different conclusions. From 4:33, we see that when people receive “grace” (from whomever—be it from God or a fellow human) they are receiving something that benefits, helps, or assists them in some way. From 11:23, we see that when the “grace of God” is at work in people’s lives, then other believers will be able to see it—there will be observable evidence of the power accompanying it. From 13:43, we could conclude that that whenever the “grace of God” is working in a person’s heart and life, it is something that they must continue in—they must purposely cooperate with it and should be exhorted to do so by others who have experienced God’s grace.

Concerning the two occurrences of the English word “grace” in chapter 14 of Acts, in v. 3[24], the “word of His grace” seems to speak of this new era of grace that was ushered in with the New Covenant. In v. 26[25], being “commended to the grace of God” could refer to God’s guidance, favor, protection and care. It may also refer to God’s assistance, help, and empowerment or even His will in general.

Of the two times “grace” appears in chapter 15, in v. 11[26] Peter may speak of this new dispensation of grace inaugurated by Jesus. Being saved “through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” may also speak of all that Jesus did to save mankind from their sins. For neither Jew nor Gentile was salvation to be obtained through circumcision or by keeping the Mosaic Law, but rather through faith in the power of Christ. In v. 40[27] we find language similar to that found at 14:26.

Upon examining the last three occurrences of the English word “grace” in the book of Acts (18:27; 20:24, 32), we find in 18:27[28], that “grace” helped or assisted somebody—either this verse is saying that it was the grace of God that helped Apollos so that Apollos could help the Corinthians (Corinth was the capital of Achaia; plus, see 19:1 and 1 Cor 1:12), or it could be saying that the grace of God helped, assisted, or had something to do with the Corinthians coming to initial faith. In other words, either Apollos “helped” through God’s assisting grace, or the Corinthians “believed” through God’s enabling, helping grace—either way it makes sense and either way someone was assisted “through grace”. In 20:24[29], Paul speaks of “the gospel of the grace of God”, which might be summed up as being the good news that all repentant sinners can experience the New Covenant grace of God and enter His kingdom upon surrendering their lives to believing in Jesus as the Son of God and following Him as Lord. Then, in 20:32[30], we find a combination of the language found at 14:26 and 15:40 (concerning being “commended to God/the grace of God”) and the language found at 14:3 (concerning “the word of His grace”). Paul then, is commending his hearers to the person of God (the God of grace) and also to the New Covenant message (whether delivered orally or in writing) concerning the fact that God’s grace is now available to all who would believe in and obey Jesus Christ as God’s beloved Son.

 

Grace in the Pauline Epistles (including Hebrews[31])

When using my Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (KJV) and counting the number of occurrences of the English word “grace” in the thirteen Pauline Epistles, plus the book of Hebrews, I come up with ninety-seven—and this is not even considering all the times that charis (and the other various forms of the word) are translated into an English word other than “grace.” As every Bible student already knows, Paul uses the word “grace” (and all of its various forms) a lot! The vast majority of the N.T. occurrences of the word “grace” are found in the writings of the apostle Paul. But because Paul uses the word so many times, analyzing his each and every use of it is a task that I have no desire to undertake at this time. So for arguments sake, I will just concede that in the majority of cases, when Paul uses the word charis, it probably does carry the basic sense of either “favor” or “undeserved favor.” But I will also assert that there are enough times that it carries other meanings that we should make a conscious effort to incorporate these into our theology and into our teaching and preaching if we at all desire to avoid perverting the grace of our God into licentiousness, lewdness, or lasciviousness[32]. So let us now look at some passages from Paul’s writings (plus the book of Hebrews) that firstly, might help us gain insights as to what else “grace” or charis might mean (besides “the unmerited favor of God”) and that secondly, might help us to avoid believing and teaching a concept of grace which actually twists Paul’s words—who, as Peter admits, wrote some things which are hard to understand[33].

 

On Discerning a Couple Lesser Known Aspects of Grace in Paul.

1. Grace as power received from God[34]: There are places in Paul’s writings where “grace” seems to be either associated with power or else it is used synonymously with power—meaning the power that God infuses into believers to live as overcomers as they trust in Him and step out in obedient faith. In fact, there appears to be a correlation between grace and the Holy Spirit. In order to try to back up these assertions while also trying to limit the length of this paper, only five passages from Paul’s writings are given and briefly discussed below (and admittedly, some of these examples are better than others), but I have also listed other passages from Paul (without commenting on them), that I believe illustrate the enabling power of the grace of God, which are given in the footnote below[35].

First, in Rom 1:5 where Paul writes that “we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith” he seems to speak of his receiving an office (apostleship) and the power (grace) to fulfill it, which are both for “obedience to the faith”—possibly both for his personal obedience and for the summons to all nations to repent and believe the good news concerning the kingdom of God.

Second, I believe we see Paul using the word “grace” to speak of the enabling power of God that is made available to believers under the New Covenant (under which there is an abundance of grace) as we come to the end of Romans chapter 5 and in verses 20-21 he writes: “²⁰ Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, ²¹ so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” [The power of grace is able to overcome the power of sin and grace reigns through righteousness—not through unrighteousness (which is to be ungracious[36]).]

Third, if the above proof text is disputed, then surely Romans chapter 6 illustrates the transforming power of God’s grace. As we surrender to Jesus and trust in Him, God not only declares us righteous, but works in us—enabling us to live a life of practical righteousness. In Rom 6:14-15, Paul writes: “¹⁴ For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. ¹⁵ What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!” [Sin shall not reign over us because the power of New Covenant grace is greater or “better” (Heb 7:22) than the spiritual resources that were generally made available under the Mosaic Law.]

Fourth, in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 where Paul is writing about the “thorn in the flesh” that was given to him, he says that he pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from him, and then in v. 9 Paul writes: “⁹ And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” [In verse 7, Paul tells us that this thorn was given to him to keep him humble. Realizing that this was the purpose of the thorn, and knowing that God gives grace to the humble, Paul equates this grace with “the power of Christ”.]

Fifth, we see a direct correlation between the power of grace and the power of the Holy Spirit upon comparing Rom 6:14 (quoted in the third example above) with Gal 5:18, where Paul writes: “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.” [Whether we say that we are “under grace” or “led by the Spirit”, these phrases seem to speak synonymously of the superior condition or state of believers who are living under the New Covenant, instead of being under law/under the Law.]

2. Grace as a spiritual or material benefit that Christians must care for and use in service to others and God: Believe it or not, we can have grace imparted to us from other human beings and we can give grace back to God[37]. I believe this can be seen in the following passages:

Rom 1:11: “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift [charisma], so that you may be established”

1 Cor 16:3: “And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift [charis] to Jerusalem.”

2 Cor 8:6-7: “So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. But as you abound I everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also.”

Eph 4:29: “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

Col 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Col 4:6: “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”

Heb 12:28: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”

 

On Using Paul to Interpret Paul.

Many of the modern day Protestants who have been indoctrinated with the distorted and incomplete concept of grace that prevailed in the camps of the Lutheran and Reformed theologians of the 16^th century, tend to throw accusations of “legalism” and “works” at any Christian who dares to teach such things as free-will, human responsibility, the necessity of holiness of life, or the necessity of persevering to the end in an obedient love-faith relationship with Jesus. Then, these misguided disciples of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin (I do not say “disciples of Jesus”) begin to quote passages from Paul to show that salvation is “all of grace.” And of course, I agree that salvation, from beginning to end, is all of grace—I have simply come to a different understanding of what grace consists of. It consists of much more than just “the unmerited favor of God” and just as grace does not allow for “legalism[38]” (Gal 2:21; 5:4), neither does it allow for ungodly living.[39] So let us examine some of the “grace-alone-faith-alone-assurance” passages from Paul that these people so regularly quote from and then let us compare them with some other “Pauline” passages that they tend to either avoid or explain away. This should help us arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of what Paul believed on the subject of grace. Let us remember that Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write what he did, therefore, as we compare these passages, if it seems like their messages contradict, then it is our understanding of grace that is in error—not God’s message. We should also recognize that all of Paul’s warning passages were directed towards the Christians that he was writing to—not to the unbelievers or the pagans down at Elmer’s Tavern. With that being said, let the reader compare and harmonize…

 

This set of ten passages written by Paul

Rom 3:22-24: “even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”

Rom 4:2-4, 16: “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt….¹⁶Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all”

Rom 5:1-2: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Rom 8:37-39: “³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Rom 11:6: ^“6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.”

1 Cor 6:12: “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”[40]

Eph 2:5, 8-9: “even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)…. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Phil 1:6: “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”

2 Tim 1:9: “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, no according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,”

Titus 3:4-7: “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”[41]

 

With this set of ten passages written by Paul:

Rom 2:7-9: ^“7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; ⁸ but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness–indignation and wrath, ⁹ tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;”

Rom 8:13: ¹³ “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

1 Cor 6:9-10: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, no idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, not thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”

1 Cor 7:19: “Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters.” [“is what matters” was added by the translators of the NKJV for the sake of clarity]

Gal 5:1-6, 13: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole Law. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by Law, you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love [see footnote[42]]….¹³For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

Gal 5:19-21: “¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, ²¹ envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Gal 6:7-9: “⁷ Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. ⁸ For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. ⁹ And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

Eph 5:5-7: “⁵ For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. ⁷ Therefore do not be partakers with them.”

Philippians 2:12: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;”

Titus 2:11-14:  ^“11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, ¹² teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, ¹³ looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”

Note: Hopefully this comparison will help the reader will see that when a person holds to a version of grace that amounts to a license to sin without fear of any real spiritual harm coming them, they are not holding to a biblical understanding of grace. Paul was no antinomian[43]. His version of grace made room for free will and human responsibility. It was in accord with godliness and holy living. The New Covenant grace that Paul contrasted with the Mosaic Law actually empowered people to live the Christian life instead of giving them an excuse for not cooperating with God’s working in them. But in the same vein, God’s grace leaves no room for boasting—let him who boasts boast in the Lord (1 Cor 1:31).

 

Grace in the General Epistles[44]

As it is listed in my Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (KJV), the English word “grace” appears in the General Epistles (which are sometimes referred to as the “catholic” or universal epistles) a total of 15 times. It appears three times in James (once in 1:11 and twice in 4:6), eight times in 1^st Peter (1:2, 10, 13; 3:7; 4:10; 5:5, 10, 12), twice in 2^nd Peter (1:2; 3:18), once in 2^nd John (v. 3), and once in Jude (v. 4). With so few occurrences of the word, this makes it more manageable to look at each and every usage of it.

 

Grace in James

In the first occurrence (1:11) of the English word “grace” in James, the Greek word behind it is not charis (and this is the only time in the KJV when the Greek word behind “grace” is not charis). In 1:11, instead of charis, the Greek word is euprepeia and whereas the KJV (in speaking of the grass withering and its flower falling) has “and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth”, the NKJV reads “its beautiful appearance perishes.” So this first occurrence of “grace” in James is not really all that applicable to our discussion—it is not the word charis and it has to do with outwardly beautiful appearance.

The second and third occurrences of the English word “grace” in the book of James are both found in the same verse, which reads as follows:

James 4:6: “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Now this is an interesting little verse. Not only does James, in this verse, quote from the Septuagint translation of the book of Proverbs, but he also challenges two ideas about grace that so many Lutheran and Reformed Protestants hold to be basic truths. The first idea challenged by this verse is the idea that every believer, at the moment of initial justification, receives all of the grace that he or she is ever going to need or get. I have heard this idea taught in such a way that it leaves the hearer with the impression that God gives people all of the grace that they are ever going to need or get all in one chunk or all in one helping—never to get or need anymore. Also, I have heard this idea on grace taught in such a way that if I had to put a name to it, I would call it “once-justified-always-justified.” But James specifically says that “He gives more grace.” God does this! He did it when transitioning from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant, as Paul writes:

Rom 5:20: “Moreover the Law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,”

Under the New Covenant, God not only gives a greater grace or “grace upon grace” (which by comparison eclipses the grace that was found under the Old Covenant), but even when already under the New Covenant we can continue to receive grace, not only from God, but from other believers as well (see Eph 4:29). In Hebrews, we read:

Heb 4:16: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Now, I do not read Greek, but I do have some decent language study resources in my personal library, and this verse is in no way telling us that we should only have to come once to the throne of grace and never need to come again. It is teaching us that as we need more grace (as circumstances require it), we are to keep on appropriating it. “Let us…come” has more the sense of “let us keep on coming” or to “keep on drawing near”[45] to the throne of grace so that we, Christians who have already been initially justified, may obtain not only mercy, but also grace to help in time of need. Just as there can be an increase in the grace in our lives (cf. Acts 4:33), so also can we cease to continue in the grace that we have already been given (cf. Acts 13:43), or fall from it (Gal 5:2-4) or ultimately fall short of it (Heb 12:15) or receive it “in vain” (2 Cor 6:1). But we can also be strengthened or “established” by grace (Heb 13:9) and have an “exceeding” amount of grace (2 Cor 9:14). Paul was clear when he wrote to Christians, who had already come into initial justification, saying:

2 Cor 9:8: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”

So I personally have no problem in simply accepting it as a fact that James 4:6 is saying that God can give us “more grace” (as we need it and appropriate it in faith by meeting the conditions that are attached to it). Which brings me to the second idea that is being challenged in this verse (James 4:6)—that God’s grace is unconditional or that there are “no strings attached” to receiving His grace and no conditions to be met in receiving it initially, or in receiving more of it, or in continuing in it. This is the foundational assumption behind such doctrines as “Unconditional Election” or the “Unconditional Security of the Believer” and “Irresistible Grace.”[46] But note that James, inspired of the Holy Spirit, quotes a verse from the Septuagint that gives conditions as to who God gives His grace to. The verse he quotes from the book of Proverbs (LXX translation) says that “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

 

Grace in Peter

In Peter, we find the English word “grace” appearing (in the KJV) a total of ten times—eight times in 1^st Peter (1:2, 10, 13; 3:7; 4:10; 5:5, 10, 12) and twice in 2^nd Peter (1:2; 3:18). Let us examine all ten occurrences.

The first occurrence of the word “grace” in Peter is found in 1 Peter 1:2 in his greeting to his readers. Peter gives a greeting very similar to the one that Paul normally used,[47] a greeting which sounds very much like a priestly blessing (in which God’s power or care is invoked for some person, place, thing or undertaking). Peter concludes verse 2 by saying: “Grace to you and peace be multiplied.” As already mentioned, this type of saying (used by both Peter and Paul) seems to be more than just a salutation—it seems like it is being used more like an effective word of blessing sent out to the recipients of the letter, as if grace and peace will actually be imparted to those who are the recipients of the blessing, so long as they themselves are not harboring something that might hinder[48] the power of it[49]. As to exactly what “grace” means in this instance (and the many others like it in Paul’s writings), it is hard to pinpoint. The greeting/blessing may be meant to impart grace in general, bestowing God’s multifaceted grace with all of its many possible benefits and aspects—which, as we have seen, includes more than just the “unmerited favor of God”.

The second occurrence of the word “grace” in Peter is found in 1 Peter 1:10 where Peter wrote:

“Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,”

Here, in this verse (1 Pet 1:10), Peter seems to speak of the distinction between the grace that had existed under the Old Covenant (there was some) and the “new grace” that was prophesied about that was then yet to come and is now available under the New Covenant.

The third occurrence of the word “grace” in Peter is found in 1 Peter 1:13 where Peter wrote:

“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”

Here, in 1 Peter 1:13, we learn that we are going to be given additional grace at the second coming of Christ. And once again we see that when we received grace at the time of our initial salvation we were not given the entire truckload at once.

The fourth occurrence of the word “grace” in Peter is found in 1 Peter 3:7 where Peter wrote:

“Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.”

What is “the grace of life”? Well, when we consider that another acceptable way of translating this phrase would be “the gift of life”, and when we take into account that the Christian married couples are “heirs” of it (meaning that they inherit it), this phrase may be simply referring to eternal life. Whether it refers to eternal life in the present tense or eternal life in the final sense (as Peter wrote in 1:13: “the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ”), it doesn’t really matter.

The fifth occurrence of the word “grace” in Peter is found in 1 Peter 4:10 where Peter wrote:

“As each one has received a gift [charisma], minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace [charis] of God.”

In this verse (4:10), Peter seems to be saying that the people with the spiritual gifts (the charisma) are to be “good stewards” of the grace of God in its many varied forms (“manifold” means various, diverse, motley, etc). And this is exactly the point that I am trying to get across in this paper—that God’s “grace” refers to more than just “the unmerited favor of God.” In our Christian communities, we need to emphasize grace, not only as justification, but also as “Christification”—we need to emphasize that God’s grace enables us to follow the example of Christ, to overcome sin, and to live holy lives. God’s grace is more than just imputed righteousness, forgiveness, or “forensic justification”—it is also regeneration, renewal, and the Holy Spirit motivated, God-given, enabling power, not only to know and desire “the good”, but also to accomplish it.

The sixth occurrence of the word “grace in Peter is found in 1 Peter 5:5 where Peter wrote:

“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'”

Here (in 5:5), Peter quotes the same verse from the Septuagint translation of the book of Proverbs as did James (in James 4:6, which we have already covered and need not cover again).

The seventh occurrence of the word “grace” in Peter is found in 1 Peter 5:10 where Peter wrote:

“But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”

Just as we have seen that grace empowers us for holy living, rather than excusing us from it—so also, this verse shows us that grace (even if understood as “favor”) does not exempt us from suffering. God graciously allows us to experience trials, tests and sufferings in life and depending on how we choose to respond to these things, they can be catalysts or goads to either move us closer to God or further away from Him (and of course He desires the former). Our life experiences and how we react to them play a considerable role in shaping our character. Even incidents and situations we would naturally be inclined to view as being negative experiences may ultimately be meant for our good—they might be meant to mold us, shape us, train us, or “discipline” us. So let us not jump to the conclusion that God is either punishing or has withdrawn His favor from those whom He allows to suffer[50]. This is what people thought about Jesus when He was being crucified. They “esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted” (Is 53:4b). But just because Jesus endured suffering, it does not necessarily mean that He was being punished by God the Father or that God the Father withdrew His grace from Jesus[51]. I believe that Hebrews 2:9 teaches that it was an act of the Father’s grace (not only towards us but towards Jesus) for the Father to allow and ordain Jesus’ suffering—because it made Jesus the perfect High-Priest.

Heb 2:9: “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.” (cf. Heb 4:15; 5:8)[52]

The eighth occurrence of the word “grace” in Peter is found in 1 Peter 5:12 where Peter wrote:

“By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.”

Here in this verse (1 Pet 5:12), we see that Peter, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, basically says that “If you want to know what the true grace of God is, just look at what I’ve written in this epistle!” And if a person were to study Peter’s first epistle, he or she would find that Peter regularly exhorts his readers to do things, to take action—spiritually speaking[53]. Peter’s idea of grace shows that we are active partners with God in our spiritual lives. Whereas the concept of grace that is dominant within Lutheran and Reformed circles is based upon the idea that “there is nothing that you can do.” For instance, I have heard it taught that we have no part to play in our exercising faith, repenting, or persevering—God does it all. Many Reformed and Lutheran minded individuals would go so far in preaching against “works” that even if someone (whom they would derogatorily call a “Semi-Pelagian”) dared to exhort people to surrender themselves to God (i.e., to give themselves up or resign themselves, through an act of the will, to doing God’s will), they would quickly say that even this is teaching “works” and that if people actually do it, then they are pursuing a “works-based salvation” because even such a surrendering is still a “doing” even when it may involve doing nothing!

The ninth occurrence of the word “grace” in Peter is found in 2 Peter 1:2 where Peter wrote:

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,”

Although this verse in 2 Peter 1:2 is very similar to the greeting found in 1 Peter 1:2, it is different enough that it deserves its own treatment. Notice in this verse that Peter expresses his wish that both grace and peace be multiplied to his Christian readers. Now if Peter wants grace to be multiplied to his readers then this shows—just as in James 4:6—that we can get more of it even after having been initially justified. Just listen to what Peter says about grace this next time he mentions it.

The tenth and last occurrence of the word “grace” in Peter is found in 2 Peter 3:18 where Peter wrote:

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.”

Just as we can receive more grace (and keep coming back for more) and have grace multiplied to us, so here we see that we can grow in grace. We all know that we can grow in knowledge, but what does it mean to grow in grace? I believe it has something to do with progressive sanctification or with becoming more and more like Christ. Unlike the natural physical growth that takes place in our bodies as we change from infants to adults, we have a part to play in the spiritual growth process; otherwise Peter would not exhort his readers to do it! As we make good use of and avail ourselves of the grace that has already been given to us, God will give us more grace as needed and appropriated by faith—it will be multiplied to us, and we will grow in grace.

 

Grace in John’s Epistles and in the Epistle of Jude

In John’s epistles, we only find the English word “grace” appearing (in the KJV) once, and that instance is in 2 John verse 3. We find the same thing in Jude—the word only appears one time—and that one time is in verse 4.

In 2 John 3, the word “grace” is used in this way:

“Grace mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.”

This verse, found in the greeting of the letter, is unlike the greeting/blessing that is found in 1 Peter 1:2 and 2 Peter 1:2 and similarly in Paul’s greetings (which sound like a wish that they have for their readers) in that John’s words here sound more like a definite statement of something that will surely come to pass. The verse shows that grace (regardless of the form it comes in) is imparted to us from both the Father and the Son. And upon examining other passages from the Gospel of John (which we have already done) and all three of his epistles (a few examples from 1^st and 3^rd John are given in the footnote below[54]), it is evident that John’s concept of grace does not allow for ungodly living. It is evident that in John’s concept of grace, we are enabled to live practically righteous lives as we cooperate in being progressively conformed to the image of Christ.

In Jude 4, the word “grace” is used this way:

“For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Now when I read this verse, I cannot help but think that this is exactly what has happened and what is still happening throughout the vast majority of Western Christendom. So many of the ideas concerning grace that are floating around in Christendom do exactly that—they turn the grace of our God into aselgeia (which has to do with excess, licentiousness, absence of restraint, indecency, wantonness, lasciviousness, filthiness, shameless conduct, etc). When so-called Christians live like this (or teach people that they can live like this) and then soothe their consciences by appealing to God’s “grace”—regardless of what they may profess with their lips, they are denying both the Father and the Son; they are “practical atheists” or “baptized pagans”.[55] So if you are in a church body that is teaching a concept of grace that makes room in the Christian life for ungodly or ungracious living (whether it is done by concocting a God-mocking, slate-wiping, indulgence-confession-penance system or by teaching heretical doctrines such as Eternal Security (once-saved-always-saved) or a version of imputed righteousness (forensic justification) that makes sanctification and holy living optional and that basically amounts to “once-justified-always-justified—I would strongly advise that you get out of it and stop supporting it. Because even if you are able to keep this type of teaching from corrupting your mind and the minds of your family members, every time you put money in the offering plate you are contributing to the perpetuation and spread of such teachings. These Christian groups do teach some good truths and do some good things, but when Satan wants to poison us, he is smart enough to mix his poisonous lies in with enough of the truth that we are more apt to swallow it. Then, the spiritual poison begins to spread within us and corrupt our thinking and eventually it will affect our Christian walk. Paul warned us about those who have a “form” of godliness but yet deny its power and he said “from such people turn away![56]”

 

Grace in The Revelation of Jesus Christ

In the book of Revelation, the word grace only appears twice—once in 1:4 and once in 22:21. In Rev 1:4 it appears as follows:

“Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,”

Here we find the apostle John using the word “grace” in the familiar form of a greeting/priestly blessing as we see quite frequently in Paul and like we have seen a couple times in Peter. We have already covered both this and John’s concept of grace (I say “John’s concept of grace”, because in all of the recorded words of Jesus, whether in the gospels or in the book of Revelation, Jesus Himself never actually uses the word “grace”). And finally, in Rev 22:21 John concludes the book in a similar manner by writing: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

 

In Conclusion

Although I was, at one point in my life, thoroughly indoctrinated and deceived with the incomplete and dangerous version of grace that seems to be so prevalent throughout much of Western Protestantism, I now believe that by examining how the word “grace” is used in Scripture, we should not be so quick to write off every definition of grace that seems to stray outside the theological bounds of the Protestant Reformation. Lovers of truth should be ready to accept it from whatever theological camp it may happen to be preserved in—whether it be Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anabaptist, or Quaker. Let us beware of teaching and holding to a version of grace that perpetuates the serpent’s lie.[57] We do not have to stop short in defining grace as “the unmerited favor of God.” We could define it as God’s creative love or Word that has been working from the day of creation. Everywhere we see the renewing or creative work of God—this is the manifold Wisdom, Power, or grace of God. And God’s grace does not merely declare us righteous, but in Christ, God’s grace re-creates us as righteous (Rom 4:12; Heb 11:3). So if we are going to talk about how God justified us by His grace, we should go on to talk about how He both regenerates us and sanctifies us by His grace[58]. In other words, grace is not just God’s means of freeing us from the punishment of sin, it is also His means of freeing us from the power or dominion of sin.

 

[1] Which, besides Lutherans, would include all Reformed or “Calvinistic” groups (such as Presbyterians and Southern Baptists) and generally speaking, all other groups who teach the “perseverance of the saints” or “eternal security” or “once saved always saved”.

[2] 2 Tim 3:5: “having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”

[3] Alvin J. Beachy, The Concept of Grace in the Radical Reformation (Nieuwkoop: B. De Graff, 1977), 4. Comments in brackets and all emphasis is mine.

[4] In Romans chapter 6, where most Protestants would admit that Paul is writing on the issue of sanctification, we read in v. 7: “For he who has died has been freed [Gk. dikaioo] from sin.” Let us notice that here in this context where Paul is discussing our practical, progressive sanctification and is discussing our being set free from the power of sin (not just from the penalty of sin), that Paul uses the very same Greek word that he uses to speak of our being “justified.” This shows that the wall that has been constructed between justification and sanctification has some holes in it. The true Christian will not only be declared righteous, he or she will be made (practically) righteous. This requires our surrendered cooperation with God’s working in us, so let us not be lazy in our spiritual lives and in our theology. Rather, let us be diligent to avoid corrupting this process of sanctification through our holding onto a concept of grace and justification that, for all practical purposes, rationalizes our continuing in sin in much the same way (although we Protestants use a different technique) as does the “confession/penance/absolution/indulgence/slate-wiping” system of those Roman Catholic friends we know who mock God in their daily living while faithfully attending Mass each week.

[5] In an effort to place some constraints on this look into what is a deep and many faceted subject, I will try to limit myself, for the most part, to considering the meaning and context of only the places in the New Testament where the English word “grace” occurs as listed in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (KJV). However, it is highly relevant to our subject to recognize that the Greek word charis is translated by other English words (besides “grace”) depending on the context and the way it is used. Some of the other English words used in the New Testament to translate charis include such words as: favor, thank(s) or thankworthy, liberality, gift, benefit, pleasure, joy, and acceptable. This clearly shows that there are other ways of understanding charis other than as “the unmerited favor of God.” It is also illuminating to study the different shades of meaning contained in the following Greek words that are related to the word charis [grace]: charizomai [to give freely], charisma [gift], charitoo [to bestow favor, bless], chairo [to rejoice], chara [joy], synchairo [to rejoice with], acharistos [ungrateful], eucharisteo [to show favor, give thanks], eucharistia [gratitude, thanksgiving], eucharistos [grateful, thanks]—they are all in the same big, broad family of words.

[6] Luke 2:40: “And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”

[7] But was it “the unmerited favor of God” in Jesus’ case? And concerning ‘grace’ or charis meaning more than unmerited favor, let us consider the way in which Jesus Himself used the Greek word charis (it was only four times). The first three times are found in Luke 6:32-34 and the fourth time is in Luke 17:9. Although the KJV translates charis in these occurrences as ‘thank,’ Jesus seems to be using the word in the sense of reward (or ‘credit’ as many translations have it), as can be seen when compared to the parallel passage of Matt 5:46 (which, however uses the Gk word misthos). Obviously, charis/grace cannot simply mean ‘unmerited favor’ when the Master Teacher Himself is only found using the word in the sense of reward.

[8] Col 1:19: “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness [pleroma] should dwell”

[9] Col 2:9: “For in Him dwells all the fullness [pleroma] of the Godhead [deity/divinity/Godhood] bodily”

[10] 2 Pet 1:2-4: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to    us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

[11] 2 Cor 3:18: But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” [What is this verse speaking of if not of real, practical, progressive sanctification and growth in holiness of life and Christ-like character as we diligently abide in Him?]

[12] Tertullian comments on this passage that: “the grace of God advanced to higher degrees among men” (c.198 A.D., Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 3, pg 671, 672)

The Disputation with Manes [also commenting on John 1:16-17]: “…John…tells us of the giving and diffusing of grace for grace; for he indicates, indeed, [in v.17] that we have received the law of Moses out of the fullness of Christ, and he means that for that one grace [the Law of Moses] this other grace has been made perfect in us through Jesus Christ.” (c.320 A.D., Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 6, pg 221. cf. pg 218)

[13] Like these early writers, I am not of the opinion (like some people I have encountered) that God withheld grace from all humans who lived prior to the New Covenant. It is a biblical fact that He did not. In Gen 6:8 we read that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” In Psalm 84:11 we read that “The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Old Testament grace can also be seen by looking at Stephen’s narrative of Old Testament events in Acts chapter 7, where in v.10 it says that God gave Joseph favor [charis], and in v.46 we read that David found favor [charis] before God. In Luke 1:30, the angel told Mary (who was still under the Old Covenant at that time) that she had “found favor [charis] with God.” The Bible reveals that while God certainly did extend His grace to humans in some measure prior to the New Covenant, the grace of the New Covenant eclipsed the grace that came before it. As Paul writes in 2 Cor 3:7-11: “But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.”

[14] not of blood nor of the will of the flesh: There was a rabbinic doctrine that said that man’s seed, considered as “blood”, is in the act of conception mixed with woman’s blood [cf. Wisdom of Solomon 7:2]. Also, along the same lines, “the will of the flesh [sarx]” refers to carnal, sexual desire or carnal conception.

[15] nor of the will of man: This is not denying free will! It is merely restating what has already been said about this not being a natural birth but a spiritual birth. It means that this birth it was not the will of the male, reflecting the prevailing idea of the time that the male was the only active party in procreation.

[16] 2 Cor 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

[17] As for those who have been deceived into thinking that simply because they have been baptized or have had a “born again” experience, that this means that they can continue to live in sin and worldliness while confidently claiming heaven as their final resting place—they need to wake up and smell the coffee of what the Scriptures teach on the subjects of carnality, righteousness, holiness, obedience, fruitfulness, endurance, perseverance, and falling away. Sin leads to death, so let us not play with it! Let us beware of lukewarmness and getting caught up in the cares, riches and pleasures of life. Staying within the context of the gospel of John: Jesus spoke the following words:

John 5:28-29: “…the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will…come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” [it matters what we do]

John 10:27: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” [No outside force can forcibly remove us from either the hand of the Father or the Son, but take heed—the Scriptures repeatedly warn us that we can, through our own neglect or love of sin, “wriggle out” of (or drift away from) the hand of God. The Scriptures show that we must hold on to God as He holds on to us. John 10:27 shows that Jesus’ sheep are identified by their “hearing” and “following” of Jesus—and doing so in the continuous sense.]

John 15:1-6: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me [“in Christ”=Christians] that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”

[18] In the pre-Constantinian Church, “grace” meant more than being forensically declared righteous or having the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. The early Christian concept of grace included personal (and corporate) sanctification and discipline. It included the concept of discipleship, where the life of Jesus Christ serves as the model for the life of every earnest Christian. To the pre-Constantinian (or pre-Nicene) Christians, an important aspect of “grace” was that it enabled discipleship to Christ. To them, discipleship was not only a possibility under grace, it was also a requirement. Being saved by grace necessarily included being saved by continuing in a relationship of love and discipleship to Jesus Christ.

[19] Beachy, 4-5.

[20] In a CD message published by Scroll Publishing Company that is entitled “Grace: the Most Misunderstood Word in the Bible,” David Bercot delivers a message in which he presents his findings of the research he did in analyzing the meanings of the Greek word charis as it used in the Septuagint, the New Testament and the early Christian writings. He concludes that the five meanings of grace are as follows: 1. Favor or goodwill, 2. a favor, 3. a gift that shows goodwill, 4. a reward given out of goodwill, and 5. Elegance, as in ‘graceful.’ He says that the most common usage is the first meaning listed, but given that the fourth meaning listed is associated with reward, this plainly shows that defining ‘grace’ as simply meaning ‘the unmerited favor of God’ is hardly a sufficient way to define the word.

[21] Acts 4:33: “And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.”

[22] Acts 11:23: “When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.”

[23] Acts 13:43: “Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.”

[24] Acts 14:3: “Therefore, they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.”

[25] Acts 14:26: “From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed.”

[26] Acts 15:11: “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”

[27] Acts 15:40: “but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.”

[28] Acts 18:27: “And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace;”

[29] Acts 20:24: “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

[30] Acts 20:32: “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

[31] While the human author of the book of Hebrews is unnamed and unknown, this particular writer falls in with those who guess that Paul is most likely the author—knowing of course, there is evidence in the book (2:3) that might be used to poke holes in this theory. Regardless of the uncertainty as to who the human author of the book is, let us at least agree that ultimately the author was the Holy Spirit.

[32] Jude 4

[33] 2 Peter 3:15-16

[34] This becomes especially evident when doing a study of charisma [gift]—a word that is directly related to charis [grace] as can be seen upon reading Rom 12:3-8 and the passages listed in the very next footnote.

[35] Rom 15:15: “Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God,”

1 Cor 3:10a: “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it.”

1 Cor 15:10: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

Gal 2:9: “and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.”

Eph 3:2, 7-8: “if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you….of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,”

Eph 4:7, 11-12: “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift….And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,”

[36] When I look up the definition for ungracious in my dictionary (Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary) the very first definition given is this: “1 archaic: WICKED”—so the old meaning of being “ungracious” was the same as being “wicked”! And if being ungracious is directly related to being ungodly or wicked, then being gracious is directly related to being godly or righteous.

[37] That we can give God charis is seen in passages that translate the word as “thank(s)” instead of as “grace”. In common usage, this is seen in that, in Spanish, the usual word used to express “thanks” is gracias and when we say a prayer before a meal, we often speak of it as “saying grace.”

[38] As much as the word “legalism” is tossed about in Christian circles, we should realize that the word is not even mentioned in the Bible. I admit that there is always the danger of turning our man-made church rules and traditions into another Law and then binding them upon others as necessary for salvation. I believe that we are right to avoid being dogmatic in proclaiming even what are New Testament biblical church practices and observances as being necessary for salvation when the Holy Spirit (through Scripture) has not been dogmatic in naming those things as being salvation issues. However, I also believe that obedience, in general, is a salvation issue and that as each one of us discerns God’s will and understands how He wants us to live, for our own spiritual welfare, we are on much safer ground when we just go ahead and obey what we have learned, instead of writing it off as “legalism” or as being a ridiculous notion that is “just taking things too far.”

[39] Also, when Paul is setting grace over against Law or “works”, he is specifically dealing with a very practical and pressing issue or controversy that existed in the infant New Covenant church. The pressing issue was that the Gentile Christians were being coerced (by some misguided Jewish Christians) into abiding by the regulations of the Mosaic Law—they were especially being told that they had to be circumcised in order to be saved. So when Paul is writing against “works” and law/Law, he is, at least in most cases if not all cases, contrasting grace with the works of the Mosaic Law—he is not contrasting grace with obedience to the law of Christ (Gal 6:2). In the book of Hebrews (which Paul may have written), chapter 5, verse 9 tells us that Jesus “became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,” and in 12:14 we are told to “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord”. Let us take these verses like these seriously and beware of always avoiding them or explaining them away.

[40] When we compare this verse, in which Paul appears to quote an antinomian slogan (“All things are lawful for me”) that had been adopted by some in the Corinthian church, with verses 9-10 of the same chapter, it is obvious that the things that “are lawful” do not include the sort of things listed in verses 9-10 of chapter 6.

[41] I personally believe that this passage not only links grace to Christian baptism (compare the language used in the baptismal passage of Col 2:9-15 with the language used in the grace passage of Eph 2:1-10), but that this passage also links Christian baptism to salvation (as does 1 Pet 3:21; Mark 16:16; and John 3:5), to the grace of initial justification/initial forgiveness (as does 1 Cor 6:11; Acts 2:38; 22:16), to regeneration/being born again (as does John 3:3/3:5), to initial sanctification (as does Eph 5:26; 1 Cor 6:11) and to receiving the Holy Spirit (as does Acts 2:38; John 3:5; etc.). God works through baptism, but baptism does not work automatically.

[42] Just as the translators of the NKJV have added “is what matters” to 1 Cor 7:19, it seems like we might also read it here so that Gal 5:6b would read “…but faith working through love is what matters.”

[43] When I look up the word “Antinomian” in my Webster’s New International Dictionary, 2^nd Edition, it gives this definition: “One who holds that, under the gospel dispensation, the moral law is of no use or obligation, on the ground that faith alone is necessary to salvation. The term has been applied to certain Gnostics of the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries A.D….”

[44] The “General Epistles” consist of James; 1^st and 2^nd Peter; 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd John; and Jude

[45] The key Greek word being used here (proserchomai) is in the “Present subjunctive, durative” according to Robert Shank, and according to A.T. Robertson it is in the “Present active middle volitive subjunctive” form. Both of these men agree that Heb 4:16 carries the above mentioned sense.

[46] A simple exercise that a person can do in order to see there has always been conditions attached to God’s dealings with individuals, is to simply circle the word “if” with a red pen every time you come across it in your regular Bible reading.

[47] Paul uses a greeting similar to the one found in 1 Pet 1:2 in the following places: Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:2; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2; Phil 1:2; Col 1:2; 1 Thes 1:1; 2 Thes 1:2; 1 Tim 1:2; 2 Tim 1:2; Philem. 3.

[48] Biblical evidence showing that power in the spiritual realm can be hindered when things aren’t as they should be in our walk with God and our relationships with others is seen in 1 Peter 1:7, which shows that husbands should try to live with their wives in a way that is in accordance with God’s will “that your prayers may not be hindered.”

[49] Something similar to this is seen in Luke 10:5-6 where Jesus instructs His disciples: “But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.”

[50] Remember Joseph and Job

[51] I seriously question the popular theory of the atonement known as the “Satisfaction Theory” in which it is supposed that God the Father punished God the Son and where adherents of it sometimes say that God the Father had to turn away from Jesus (while He was on the cross) as He (God) poured out His wrath upon Him (Jesus). The “Classic Theory” of the atonement is the explanation that I lean towards, while realizing that adherents of both models can find Scriptural proof to back up their ideas. It is a matter of interpretation. But it is a documented fact that the Classic Theory is the oldest explanation of the atonement that can be found being expressed among the Christian writers of the first few centuries. And when a person is open enough to let the Septuagint translation of Isaiah 53 temper the Masoretic translation of Isaiah 53, and open enough to consider that just because Jesus quoted Ps 22:1 while on the cross that this in itself does not necessarily mean that the first two Persons of the Trinity were divided at that moment, and also when a person considers who it was that bruised the heel of Christ (Gen 3:15)—these considerations will make it more plausible (to minds indoctrinated with the Satisfaction theory) that maybe the Classic Theory of the atonement should not be so hastily written off as being erroneous and heretical.

[52] Heb 4:15: “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.”

Heb 5:8: “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”

[53] For example, see 1:13-17, 22; 2:1-2, 11-13, 15-17, 24; 3:8-11, 15-16; 4:1-2, 7-10, 13, 19; 5:5-6, 8-9.

[54] 1 John 1:3-4: “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

1 John 3:10: “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.”

3 John 11: “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.”

[55] Titus 1:16: “They profess to know God but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

Philippians 3:18-19: “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.

[56] 2 Tim 3:5

[57] Gen 3:1-4: ¹ Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” ² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; ³ but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” ⁴ Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.”

[58] Some Scriptures indicating that a child of God is meant to share in the life of God or to partake of the divine nature and therefore undergo genuine and progressive renewal in his or her mind and character with the goal of growing deeper and closer in their relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, include (but are not limited to) the following: Gen 1:26; John 15:1-17; 17:11, 21-23; 1 Cor 2:13, 16; 15:49; 2 Cor 3:17-18; Gal 2:20; 4:19; Eph 3:6-19; 4:13-15, 24; Col 1:28; 2:10; 3:3-4; 1 Thes 2:13; 1 Pet 4:11; 2 Pet 1:4; 1 John 3:9. It helps us to take these and other such passages seriously when we realize, recognize, and internalize the alternative aspects of grace that were discussed in this paper. Rather than simply viewing grace as either pardon/unmerited favor or energy/spiritual enabling, it is more biblical to understand grace as both pardon/unmerited favor and energy/spiritual enabling.