Strong in The Grace

Grace is not such a difficult concept when one looks at how it is used in the Gospels, Acts and the New Testament. In Luke 1:30, it is translated as 'favor' in regards to Mary when an angel tells her to 'fear not' about the task God was asking of her in bringing forth and raising his son. Having a normal child involves much work and is sometimes tough, but this was the son of God! I'm sure she was blessed to know God had her back. How else could any human handle that!

Fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 12 men were sitting in the temple when the gift of holy spirit was given first to the apostles. Peter rose up and shared what had happened. He encouraged the community of believers that were  there also to receive the gift. 

38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.Acts 2:38

Three thousand people standing by received the gift. As they all celebrated this great event of God's divine favor, they were:

47 Praising God, and having (sharing) favour (grace) with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Acts 2:47

They all shared in the grace. God had their backs too. In the epistles, that is written to these believers and 'all that were afar off', the apostle Paul further further illuminated about the gift of holy spirit. This is for us today! The grace of God is available to all who choose to believe and our reception of favor from God is dependent on our humility towards God and in utilization of what he has given us. (James 4:6).

In II Timothy 2:1-2 the understanding of what we are to do with this grace is spelled out to Timothy:

2 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

Timothy was a worker for Jesus Christ and God encouraged him be strong in the favor of the risen Christ as the receipt of salvation and to teach 'others' so that they can teach 'others'.  Those 'others' will teach 'others', and those 'others' will teach 'others'.............

The 12 Uses of Grace in Ephesians

Uses of Grace in Ephesians:

1.  Ephesians 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

2.  Ephesians 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

3.  Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

4.  Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ , (by grace ye are saved ;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

5-6 Ephesians 2:7-8
 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

7.   Ephesians 3:2 If ye have heard of the dispensation (administration) of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

8-9 Ephesians 3:7-8
 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. 8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given , that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

10.  Ephesians 4:7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

11.  Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers

12. Ephesians 6:24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen

Jesus Christ and The Gift of Holy Spirit

Jesus Christ was/is an amazing man.  He was/is the son of God. In I John 3:8b, the Word of God says:

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

As recorded in Genesis, evil got a foothold in this world and grew, influenced and expanded into people's lives. God's original creation suffered for its intrusion. The devil has influenced where ever he could get a foothold. The manifestations of his handiwork are everywhere. He moves with ideas, thinking, confusion and chaos. Often evil is very obvious, but in order for it to really succeed, it must mask itself and hide behind facades that will deceive unwary targets.

Specifically, the adversary nips away at the word of God in people's lives. Religion is one of evil's greatest disguises. The devil knows God's word and he knows how to misuse it.  That is how people get turned off to the truth. The truth gets twisted and people get confused. Then they blame God. If they don't blame God, they sometimes water down the truth to make it palatable with today's trends. The beauty of the word is that it is relevant throughout time.

Other disguises and twists center on marriage and family, finances and economy, government, idols in our culture, health and nutrition and many more categories. God-inspired people have contributed immensely to our culture in godly ways. Evil inspiration does just the opposite.

It was God's plan in his son that was to save those that are affected by the tentacles of darkness. Jesus Christ came and his purpose was/is to expose light on the dreadful works of the adversary. Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone in the foundation of the living church. He is alive and well. He directs and guides to build up the church in the right direction.

When Jesus Christ walked this earth with the 12 apostles, he gave them power and authority to use that power:

Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. Luke 9:1

He then did the same to seventy others as recorded in Luke 10:17. On the day of Pentecost, the power of God was poured out to an even larger group composed of some 3000 souls ( Acts 2:38-41) as promised by Jesus Christ just before he ascended:

4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the holy spirit not many days hence. Acts 1:4-5

If you continue to read the book of Acts, more people, including the Gentiles, were brought into access to the power of God. This is spelled out to us in the Romans through Thessalonians so that we too may walk in the same power.

Grace* is the Power of God!

'Grace' is a much talked about word in the Bible.  This is a big concept and I dare say no one will ever know all there is to know about it, it is that big!

Honestly, I'm not sure that many people who are talking about grace really understand it. I have to admit that I haven't completely understood what it fully means. At times I get confused when I read articles about grace. We hear a lot of words about hyper-grace, forgiveness grace, grace myths, grace truth, grace vs law, grace vs works and so many others. What people say before they eat is called 'grace'. When I look at how God uses the word, things start to clear up. When you get grace straight, peace in your heart follows!

Paul encouraged Timothy:

1Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. II Timothy 2:1-2

What does it mean to be strong in grace that is in Christ Jesus? I could look at the Greek words and try to come up with some idea of what it is saying. If you just look at what it says simply, Timothy was encouraged to be strong in the whole concept of a risen Messiah. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, In that one event, the opposition to God took a huge blow. That is how salvation is promised in Romans 10:9-10.

On the day of Pentecost, as recorded in the Book of Acts, 3000 people received the gift of holy spirit which empowered them with strength and their response was:

46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 Praising God, and having favour (grace) with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Acts 2:46-47

These 3000 believers were sharing grace and they were praising God.  As they received the gift and the spiritual abilities the gift bestowed, they were changed. Timothy was encouraged to teach faithful men who could teach others. Paul, in the church epistles, taught more about what they had received. The whole idea was to spread the word, thus enabling others to have the same power.

God gives grace.  It is evidence of how he loves. He wants to empower those he loves.  In Ephesians, the word 'grace is used 12 times. Check it out. It is all about God's salvation and wholeness in our lives.
* Grace rules: Eph 1:2,6,7;  2:5,7,8;  3:2,7,8;  4:7,29; 6:24

The Fulness of God -Not a Distant God

Jesus Christ contained the complete filling of the Godhead.  'Godhead' was used interchangeably with the word 'Godhood' (Some theologians say it is a Middle English variant and some say it is a synonym). The '-hood' suffix as found in manhood, childhood or neighborhood, and personhood, is a word that describes the qualities or state of being (essence) of the entity it is describing. It is about the 'what' rather than 'who'. (Check out Acts 17:29, Romans 1:20, Colossians 2:9)

For in (Jesus Christ) him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete (Greek = pleroo) in him, which is the head of all principality and power: Colossians 2:9-10

The fulness (pleroma) of the qualities of God flourished in Jesus Christ. He was filled to the brim with God's goodness and as as result we are complete (pleroo related to the word 'pleroma') in him. In Ephesians this same fulness and completeness is described:

19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Ephesians3:19

Verse 19 a pretty interesting statement.  How are we filled with all the fulness of God? God is spirit and we are filled with is His spirit through Jesus Christ. God is not a distant God, He is relational and this is how He set it up.  Jesus Christ was raised and now sits at the right hand of God. God as a spirit (John 4:24) doesn't have a right hand.  This is an example of a figure of speech that paints a picture to show the authority of Christ. Christ today is alive and active and building the true church. He communicates through the spirit. The spirit is not a person but an essence that does the filling.

What does all this mean? It seems like a really important concept to understand. God is powerful, just and good and desires the best for his kids but he doesn't violate free-will. It is our choice to to recognize, love and trust God and all that he provides. Our ultimate blessing results in power, love and an inherent soundness that rejects fear.