THANK GOD FOR GRACE - PART 1

MONDAY 17 JULY 2023

Giving away His precious grace is the greatest thing God did for us in Christ. And in today's article, it is a matter of thanksgiving to God, the Father.

Reference: Ephesians 1:6 New Living Translation (NLT) "So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son."

Beloved, we should learn to praise and thank God for His glorious grace because He poured it out on us in a boundless measure. Why? We need the continual consumption in our faith walk and I thank God for His generosity, because His grace can never be exhausted or run dry.

I venture to think that we get to gain a more true and appropriate meaning of the word, "grace" when we study the definition in Greek version. Charis (χάρις: which means Grace) is a Spartan name derived from the Greek Grammar, Chairo, meaning to thrive well and to rejoice. It is a divine influence upon a man's life with a charming quality, which exerts joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, loveliness, favour and comeliness. The synonyms are beauteousness, fairness, or a kind of spiritual beauty that grants favour and gives memorable pleasure to the senses.

God granted us His grace by sending us His only beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Zero wonder the gospel of grace denotes the coming of Christ, meaning that it is realisation of the presence of God, the Father, as manifested in the person of the Son, who came in the human flesh to dwell among mankind. Grace came at the fullness of time. The Bible says, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons" (ESV). For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17 NIV). To that effect, Mark 1:15 (NIV) reveals, "The time has come," He said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!" What is this good news? The gospel of grace! It came just at the fullness of time.

Romans 5:6 says, "For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly" (NIV). In other words, grace located the ungodly and made them righteous, which I will shed light on, in part 2. How is Christ, the embodiment of God's grace? Christ, the Word, became flesh and made His dwelling among us. The Scripture says, "We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14 NIV). Since this Scripture informed that grace and truth came through Christ, beloved, it simply implies that Christ is a rich treasure, full of grace, and also, an invaluable mine of precious truths. Both grace and truth have a place in Him to their full extent.

In addition, when you hear about gaining wisdom in spiritual things, and the effects of the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ, it is the workings of grace in our lives. Grace is the full character of our identity in Christ. And it doesn't just exude divine and delightful characteristics, it is more so, the branch of God's goodness and mercy that draws the attention of people's delight and interest to us in a favourable manner.

How do we receive this grace? Acts 20:32 says, "And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified" (ESV). When we are full of the grace of God which is made available in Christ in abundance, our spirit, soul and body prosper, because the word of His grace builds us up and delivers to us, the best of divine advantage and inheritance in Christ. Stay tuned for part 2.

Scripture Reading - John 1:16; Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 9:8; 2 Timothy 1:9.

Exuberant Declaration: Grace laid the very foundation of my faith in God, through the virtue of my new birth in Christ. For this reason, I sustain joyful thoughts that reflect a cheerful heart and I praise God for His abundant grace poured out on me in Christ. Hallelujah!