The Expression of the Grace of God

In the first part of this series, we established the fact that grace, in itself, is the character of God. He is a gracious God.

In the second part of this series, we established another fact: “Truth” is not a counter to the graciousness of God. Truth, as used by John, was emphasizing that the true nature of God is His gracefulness.

This doesn’t mean that God cannot be disappointed. This doesn’t mean that God does not have things that He hates. For example, God hates divorce.However, God’s hatred of sin should not be confused with an absence of grace toward His children who have experienced failure, brokenness, or divorce. We have to be able to separate the two.

So, what are the ways that God’s grace is expressed in our lives?

Grace Expressed in Salvation

God Planned Salvation

Salvation was always the plan, even before the beginning of time. Jesus was not an afterthought or a reaction to the sin of Adam.

To put this in the simplest terms, God was fully aware of our fallibility as human beings. From the beginning, the plan was that those who believe in Jesus would be saved.

Paul makes this very clear:

2 Timothy 1:9 (NIV):“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.”

God (Jesus) Did the Work

God came in human flesh and paid the price for our sin once and for all.

Hebrews 10:10 (NIV): “And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

The sacrifice of Jesus was not an ongoing payment that needed to be repeated. Christ offered Himself once, and that sacrifice was sufficient.

God Draws Us to Himself (Jesus)

John 6:44 (NIV): “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

God Does the Daily Transformation Himself (Holy Spirit)

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV): “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

This is the meaning of grace. God did the work. Our response is faith—to believe and trust in what Christ has already accomplished.

Romans 5:8 (NIV):“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Grace Expressed in the Holy Spirit

At salvation, we receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. No one can be saved except by the work of God, and the Holy Spirit also gives gifts to believers.

Romans 12:6 (NIV): “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith.”

The Greek word for “grace” in Romans 12:6 is χάρις (charis).

The Greek word for “gifts” is χαρίσματα (charismata).

Romans 12:6 can therefore be expressed conceptually as:

“Having different grace-gifts according to the grace that was given to us…”

It is clear that the gifts of the Spirit are expressions of God’s grace toward us, given so that we can serve other people.

The Holy Spirit expresses and distributes these gifts according to His own will.

1 Corinthians 12:11 (NIV): “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as He determines.”

The gifts are not something we manufacture by human ability. They are manifestations of the Spirit, distributed by God according to His grace.

Grace Expressed in Creation

Psalm 19:1 (KJV): “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.”

Psalm 8:3–4: “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”

Creation itself is an expression of the goodness, generosity, wisdom, and grace of God. The heavens, the earth, life, beauty, and even our existence are gifts that we did not earn. Everything that we need to heal, to create wealth, live comfortably, to behold have been included in the physical world. We are yet to discover everything. 

Conclusion

The character of God is that He is gracious.This is not a New Testament phenomenon, even though His grace was perfectly revealed at the cross.

• • God planned salvation.
  • God came to us in Jesus Christ.
  • God paid the price for our sins.
  • God draws us to Himself.
  • God gives us His Spirit.
  • God transforms us through His Spirit.
  • God gives us spiritual gifts by His grace.

God has done the work. Our response is faith—to believe and trust in what Christ has already accomplished.Most believers would probably agree with everything in this post.

But now comes the difficult part in navigating this interesting topic of grace. Is grace a license to sin?In other words, if I understand that it is the character of God to give grace, to continue to forgive, and to continue to care for me, should I simply continue in sin? If salvation is entirely the work of God, and if His grace continues toward us even when we fail, does grace become permission to live however we want? Paul anticipated exactly this question. We will tackle that topic in the next part.