What Does Grace Mean to Us?

Grace means that all my sins are forgiven when I confess them. 1 John 1:9 and 2:1-2. Grace also means that I can reign in life through the one Man, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:7. Jesus had such glory as of the only son from the Father—full of grace and truth. What did this mean to Him? It meant that everything was possible for Him. Mark 9:23. “And from his fullness have we all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:14-17.

When we have received of that fullness, “grace upon grace” it means that we first receive grace for the forgiveness of our sins, and then, by “grace upon grace” we receive power to obey the truth that Jesus came with. By these mercies Paul could exhort the Romans to seek all the acceptable will of God. He gives these exhortations in Romans 12 and in several other chapters. In other words, there is no limit to what we can accomplish in grace by the will of God.

Those who falsify grace divest it of truth. Obedience, they think, is just something that pertains to the law. Such people are living in sin. (Read the epistle of Jude.) “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Romans 6:14. When Paul writes that he was set apart to preach the gospel, he adds: “. . . through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring abut the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations.” Romans 1:1-5.

Paul writes further that they were to avoid those who created dissensions and difficulties, opposition to the doctrine that they had been taught, for such people did not serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Because the obedience of the Romans had become common knowledge, Paul rejoiced over them. Romans 16:17-19.

Here we see what the church in Rome had come to through this fullness: grace upon grace. And it is written: “then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On the principle of works? No, but on the principle of faith.” Romans 3:27. Then we can also ask: “What does grace mean to me?” It means that I have no ground for boasting, no matter what I might attain to through the gospel. This preserves us from the snare of Satan. 1 Timothy 3:6-7; 2 Timothy 2:26. The snare of Satan is, first and foremost, to get us to exalt ourselves. Those who are zealous are always at risk, especially if God blesses their work; so we must always be vigilant on this point. And the more God blesses us, the more deeply we must humble ourselves.

We have a particularly good example in Paul, who wrote: “. . . though it was not I, bu the grace of god which is with me.” And: “but by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:10. We read in 2 Corinthians 12 that Paul had a thorn in the flesh in order that he might not exalt himself on account of the abundance of revelations he had received. He besought the Lord three times to take it away, but God replied: “My grace is sufficient for you.” Paul thought he could remain humble without this thorn in the flesh, but God knew that he needed it. And so it is when God blesses us in a special way; he must also send us the trials and chastisement that we need to remain in humility. This is not just to preserve us in the degree of humility we already have, but that we might increase in humility and become saved from our natural, human strength so we can become even more fruitful.

We can hear that some people are extremely zealous for godliness, and it is good to hear them. In this zeal for godliness there is great hope. At the same time, it is also easy to tell when they are speaking in their natural strength; there is not the same anointing over their ministry as there is over the ministry of those who have grown more in humility. The anointing does not take away one’s zeal, but that zeal becomes more godly. And then those who hear them gain more confidence in them, which makes their ministry all the more effective. This is all a part of our growth in God. All wholehearted souls need to time to grow in grace. Those who love grace and truth rejoice over such brothers.

We read in 1 Corinthians 3:4-11 that there were those who argued about who was the greatest. By doing this they demonstrated that they were carnal, infants in Christ. Paul writes: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each shall receive his wages according to his labor.” 1 Corinthians 3:6-8.

What does grace produce for us who are fellow workers? It preserves us from contention and divisions and from falling into the snare of Satan. “With the humble is wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2; Psalms 119:71 and 75. God gives growth to what I receive grace to sow, in proportion to my humility.

May God strengthen you who are upright, that you may “set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:13.