THE RICHES OF GOD’S GRACE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY JULY 26, 2022.

SUBJECT: THE RICHES OF GOD’S GRACE!

Memory verse: "That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2 vs 7.) 

READ: Ephesians 1 verse 3 - 8:

1:3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ,

1:4: just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

1:5: having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

1:6: to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

1:7: In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace,

1:8: which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence.

INTIMATION:

The common definition of grace known to us is "God’s free and unmerited or undeserved favor for sinful humanity." God showered His kindness (His grace) on us. This is the voluntary and loving favor given to those He saves through faith in the substitutionary work of Christ. God voluntarily became man—the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The man Jesus was subject to human limitations by setting aside His glory and His rights, in response to His Father’s Will to limit His power and knowledge. Christ became “poor” when He became human because He set aside so much. Yet by doing so, He made us “rich” because by His “grace,” we are redeemed—we received salvation and eternal life. 

Therefore, the grace of God can be defined as His voluntarily setting aside His Deity—His glory, rights, power, and knowledge, for the love of sinful humanity, and bestowing on us unmerited or undeserved favor by redeeming us from sin and Satan, and handing us the gift of salvation and eternal life. 

In Christ we have all the benefits of knowing God—being chosen for salvation, being adopted as His children, forgiveness, insight, the gifts of the Spirit, power to do God’s will, the hope of living forever with Christ. Because we have an intimate relationship with Christ, we can enjoy these blessings now, and thereafter in the heavenly places because these blessings are eternal, not temporal. 

The mystery of salvation originated in the timeless mind of God long before we existed. It is hard to understand how God could accept us. But because of Christ, we are holy and blameless in His sight. God chose us, and when we belong to Him through Christ, He looks at us as if we had never sinned. All we can do is express our thanks for the wonderful love. Salvation is God’s work and not our own doing. In His infinite love, God has adopted us as His own children. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, He has brought us into His family and made us heirs along with Jesus (Romans 8 vs 17). 

Now, we can appreciate how rich is the grace of God toward us that believe: Salvation brought the whole of God—Triune God—at work; Based upon the redemption work of His Son, the Father forgives us and sends the Holy Spirit to wash away our sins and continually renew us. When Christ became human, He set aside His Deity—His glory and His rights, His power and knowledge—and became subject to human limitations just for the atonement for our sins. Though Jesus was on an equality with God, He sacrificed Himself in order to offer Himself for the salvation of the whole of mankind. 

In redemption, Christ brought us out of that from which we could not deliver ourselves by a price. We have thus been purchased by the blood of Jesus out of the slavery of sin from which we could not deliver ourselves by works of law or meritorious deeds. While we are still neck deep in sin He loved us, He planned and executed our redemption without any contributions from us. Consequently, He bestowed on us that believe in His work for us on the cross, all the benefits of knowing God—being chosen for salvation, being adopted as His children, forgiveness, insight, the gifts of the Spirit, power to do God’s will, the hope of living forever with Christ. How great, rich, awesome is God’s grace toward us! 

Therefore, our response to the exceeding greatness of His love and grace toward us is to love Him back out of gratitude for all He has done for us, by our raw obedience to His will for us. And if we love Him we should keep His commandments (John 14 vs 15 & 23).

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for Your grace lavished on me out of Your love for me. Endue me with the spirit of complete trust, and obedience to You, and live according to Your will, that I may fully harness the benefits of Your grace upon me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!