Grace Upon Grace

Grace Upon Grace

It is great grace that an ungodly person can be pardoned and justified, unmerited, by faith. It is even greater grace that a pardoned sinner, also by faith, can receive God’s righteous nature and be active in it.

It is great grace that God wants to use us in His service, without us knowing about it. Without us knowing anything about it, He works the very thing that is needed in the various circumstances, through us, by His Spirit.

Moreover, the grace that is more than this great grace is that He gives us, through the obedience of faith, of His wisdom, His understanding, and His discernment, so that we ourselves can test and understand God’s will as to what is needed in every circumstance and present it in word and deed.

For example, when we don’t know where we should go, then God leads us without us understanding it to a place where He knows we can serve the best. He can stop us on one way and lead us onto another way. Acts 16:6-10.

Nevertheless, the goal is not to be led around without understanding anything. The promises that we have go as far as partaking of divine nature.

We can take note of the fact that Paul, when he had heard that some people were blessed with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and had proved it by their love in the Spirit, that then he began to pray for them without ceasing that they in this good vessel (faith and love) would receive abundant spiritual understanding so they could judge in the various matters, and be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

Read Philippians 1:9-10; Ephesians 1:15-19; 1 Corinthians 14:10; Romans 12:2: “That you may prove . . . .”; Ephesians 5:17: “But understand . . . .”

See also some practical examples in Acts 15:34, 36; 19:21; 20:3; 1 Corinthians 16:4-12; 2 Corinthians 1:15-18: and 1 Thessalonians 3:1.

We should pay special attention to 2 Corinthians 1:17: “Therefore, when I was planning this, did I do it lightly. Or the things I plan, do I plan according to the flesh . . . ?

People plan according to the flesh when they travel to a place where it is comfortable, where they can receive much honor from people and the least amount of tribulation, etc.

One plans to travel to a place according to the Spirit, according to God’s will, where one can be of most benefit to souls.

Those who are well acquainted with spiritual laws are spiritual people. Not all those who have God’s Spirit are therefore spiritual, but there is hope that they can become that through the obedience of faith. The Corinthians had the Spirit of God and were not lacking in any of the spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 1:4-7), yet they were carnal. Ch. 3:1-3.

Read 2 Corinthians 11:6: “Thoroughly made manifest among you in all things.”