by David W Hall | 
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What is Grace?
Grace is a divine element that comes down to us from within the fellowship of the Godhead.It is an aspect of the life of God that enables us to be sons of God, fulfilling all that God planned us to be and to do.
The grace of God is found in His capacity to make offering. When we access this grace, we too, are enabled to make offering.
Grace is multiplied to us through the 'word of His grace' which accompanies the 'word of life' in the mouth of God's messengers.
The Holy Spirit, as the 'Spirit of grace'1, activates grace within us as we live in fellowship in the body of Christ, connected to the order of administration of which Christ is the Head.
The apostle Peter said we are to be 'good stewards of the manifold grace of God'.2 Obviously, 'manifold grace' has many aspects to it, and is manifested in various situations and ways. For instance, salvation comes to us by grace3 when we believe the word of messengers who are called by grace4 , equipped by grace5 to minister by grace6 , and to impart grace in various forms7 to the hearers. Having begun our journey towards the completion of our sonship, we too become both recipients and ministers of God's grace in a multitude of ways.
For many years, the word 'grace' has been used to simply mean God's favour bestowed upon those who do not merit it. In this context, many have stated that 'grace' is a legal position of right standing with God, based upon forgiveness through the cross of Jesus. Such a definition is unhelpful because, while it acknowledges God's generosity, it reduces grace to being a static legality rather than a divine component flowing down to us from beyond our finite realm.
In this small publication, we will look briefly at the source of grace, how it comes to us, and some of the ways in which it is applied to us as we receive it and function in it for the sake of others.
Grace and the Everlasting Covenant
Paul, in the opening of his letter to the Ephesians, gives a clear account of the flow of God's grace to us from beyond time.
'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 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, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself.' Eph 1:3-9.
In the above passage, Paul speaks of the beginning of the flow of God's grace toward us before the foundation of the world. It happened in the following way. In the fellowship and dialogue of the Godhead before the dawn of time, the everlasting covenant was framed. This covenant set forward the plan to bring forth a multitude of people to be sons of God the Father. This would all happen by the grace of God flowing in the Son of God.
But how could there be a multitude of sons when God the Son was the complete expression of all sonship? There was no room for other sons. Knowing this, God the Son expressed His intention to empty Himself of His prerogative to be the only expression of sonship. He would become the 'begotten' Son of God8, intent upon revealing only the person and will of His Father. He would become the 'beloved Son' in whom the Father would be well pleased.9 Thus He would open the way for many sons to be brought forth.
The Father's response to the Son's commitment was to supply to Him 'all the fullness of God'10 summed up in seven treasures of grace.11 By this grace, He would be equipped to empty Himself and then proceed forward to the complete fulfilling of the covenant, thus becoming the 'firstborn among many brethren'.12
According to Paul (see above), when the Son emptied Himself and became the 'beloved' Son in the bosom of the Father',13 the Father moved in His grace and chose us in Christ, giving each of us a predestination, and making us 'accepted in the beloved' Son.
Paul then went on to say that 'the riches of His grace' that gave us a predestination, also provided the blood of the Lamb that would redeem us from our sins and reveal to us the mystery of His will. While God did not predestine the fall of man, He foreknew that it would happen, and His grace was sufficient for the recovery of our sonship in Christ. That is why Paul further wrote,
'God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.' Eph 2:4-7.
Paul had the same thing in mind when he wrote to Timothy.
'(God) has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ'. 2Ti 1:9.
It is clear, then, that before time began, the grace we now variously receive from God was given to us in Christ, along with God's purpose for us. It is the Father's grace that made us sons of God, and it is also His grace continually coming to us that enables us to be sons.
The important point to note here is that all grace originates in the fellowship of the Godhead14 and proceeds, at every step, within that same fellowship. Apart from fellowship we cannot partake of God's grace.
The Book of Life - The Word of Truth
'Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.' Psa 139:16 (Rev 3:5)
The book of life is the book of the covenant. In it, God recorded every detail of the name, identity and work of each of His sons who was to be born. It describes how the life we receive in the Son is to be expressed within the uniqueness of each one who is joined to Christ. The book of life proclaims the gospel of our sonship in Christ. In it is written the 'word of life', the message of our calling, and the works we are to accomplish.
The word of life is the 'word of truth' and also the 'gospel of our salvation'.15 The 'truth' of the gospel lies in its message of our sonship, not in the accuracy of its information. Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the Truth,16 and as such, He was the expression of all genuine sonship to His Father. He was the forerunner and prototype of all sonship to follow.17 We were then brought forth, or begotten, by the word of truth to be a certain firstfruits to God.18 When we obey the truth19 we are living in the truth of who we were predestined to be. This is the truth that sets us free.20 This is the truth we are to believe.
The Word of His Grace
'I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified'. Acts 20:32
Paul made this statement about the 'word of His grace' having just said to the Ephesians that he had declared to them 'the whole counsel of God'. They had been given the complete message of their sonship in the 'word of life' that Paul brought. Now Paul was entrusting them to the process that would finish the work in them and give them an inheritance among the sanctified. This process would be by the 'word of His grace'.
The 'word of His grace' comes with the 'word of life'. The word of life announces, 'This is who you are called to be', while the word of His grace says, 'Here is the capacity to be that son'. The effect of the 'word of His grace' is to build us up in who we are named to be.
The word of His grace sounding forth provides the opportunity for something of the supernatural to break through upon the hearers. This is the element of grace. Whenever we gather in fellowship, this should be our expectation – we should be looking to God for His grace to be ministered, not seeking to encompass the information being laid out by the preacher.
When Jesus came into the world He was the Word made flesh, 'full of grace and truth'.21 Notice how grace and truth go together as a pair.
The word of His grace, which accompanies the word of truth, is the capacity for us to live that life as sons of the Father. He was the full expression of the 'word of the Father's grace'. That is why the psalmist wrote of Christ, 'You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips; therefore God has blessed You forever'.22 The word of grace was in His mouth.
Early in Jesus' ministry He went into the synagogue and read from Isaiah23 , 'The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings…' The people present were amazed at the 'gracious words that proceeded out of His mouth'. Here was the Word made flesh, and in His mouth was the word of grace.
Grace that is Ministered
The apostles ministered the 'word of His grace' as they brought the word of truth. They did not just talk about the grace of God as information or doctrine; they actually ministered it and committed people to it.24 They were stewards of the manifold grace of God, and encouraged the people to be likewise.25
As they ministered the word of grace, they were calling the hearers into a fellowship with the Father and the Son to be participants in the everlasting covenant. They were proclaiming the word of life, which was from the beginning, which they had seen, heard and handled.26 In this fellowship, the word was able to impart, through the word, the grace of life for living as sons of God. Here the life of Christ's sonship became operative in cleansing from sin.
Fellowship connects us to the everlasting covenant and its book of life. It is the context where grace from God is being multiplied to us. All that we need from God is available to us in fellowship. Apart from fellowship, there is no word of life proceeding from the throne of grace – there is no life, which is the light of men. In isolation there is no sight to see the grace into which we have been called – only the darkness of our own self-justifying law.
Grace of Life
Paul spoke of us as being 'heirs together of the grace of life'.27 The 'grace of life' is a broad expression that gathers up all the aspects of grace that are applicable to a person's life and function as a fruitful son of God.
Grace and truth work together. So do the book of life and the tree of life. The book of life proclaims who we are to be and what we are to do. The tree of life ministers the grace of life as the means and wisdom for living the life described in the book.
Solomon said that wisdom is 'a tree of life'. Wisdom is the word of life in action. It enables us take hold of our inheritance as sons of God.
This grace of wisdom was found in the boy, Jesus. As He grew, He was 'filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him'.28 We, too, have access to this wisdom and grace.
Paul said, 'Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom'.29 Here again are these two elements – the word of life and the word of His grace. They produce grace in our hearts by which we worship and help one another along the path of our sonship.
Grace and Righteousness
Grace facilitates our works of righteousness so we produce fruit. Observing this, Solomon said, 'The fruit of righteousness is a tree of life'.30 He summed this up in the following verse.
'Hope deferred [i.e. unrealised predestination] makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled [i.e. fruitful sonship] is a tree of life. Those who despise the word bring destruction on themselves, but those who respect the commandment will be rewarded. The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life.' Prov 13:12.
The 'fountain of life' in this verse is the word of our sonship, while the 'tree of life' points to the word of His grace. Together, these two produce the joyous fruit of sonship life.
The Capacity to Offer
The primary role of the Son of God was to be the High Priest. The One who proclaimed, 'You are My Son, today I have begotten You', also declared, 'You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek!'31 His task was to priest the life of the Father to us by means of offering, and thus see it multiplied in multitudes of sons. Not only was He to be Priest, but He was also to be the offering.32
The capacity to fulfill His mandate was not sourced from His intrinsic being as Yahweh the Son. Rather, it came from what the Father supplied to Him. Jesus said to the Jews, 'When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things'.33
The infinite intensity of His offering was visible when Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane agonising in prayer. Here the Father presented to Him the cup of our sin, judgement and death. How was the Son now to fulfill His terrible commission? The writer of Hebrews gives the answer. It was 'by the grace of God' that He tasted death for every man.34 Only 'through Eternal Spirit', did He 'offer Himself without spot to God'.35
We are called to join Christ in this 'one offering' by which we participate as priest with Him.36 He bids us to take up His cross and follow Him. But how can we, for we have no capacity in ourselves to lay down our lives? We must, like Jesus, draw upon the grace of God for the capacity and motivation to offer. But how do we do this?
Faith and Grace
'Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.' Rom 5:1,2.
Faith provides us with access into God's grace. Without faith for grace it is impossible to please God.37 For faith to be effective it must 'work by love'.38
When we hear the message of sonship, our first temptation is to activate the resources of our own reasoning and goodness. The outcome of this response is always self-righteousness resulting in sin. A form of 'law' is operating rather than grace. We are operating out of an 'evil conscience' that can only produce 'dead works'.39 We need the life which is in the blood of Christ, and which flows within the fellowship of the body of Christ, to cleanse our religious conscience. Until then we cannot touch the grace of God that enables true offering. Genuine faith for God's grace must be activated.40
When we hear and receive the word of life, the message of our sonship, faith is generated in us41 to make a response of fellowship with the messenger. The word of faith that he preaches is then in our own heart and mouth so that we answer back to him, owning the word he has brought.42 In this context of illumination and fellowship, the word of His grace is activating grace in us so that the word can now be lived. We can begin to be sons of God, making offering through His grace.
In all of this, the Holy Spirit is playing His part because He is the 'Spirit of grace'.43 He brings what is Christ's and declares it to us.44 As the 'Spirit of adoption', He brings us our individual sonship in Christ, leading us into the truth of who we really are. He reveals our name and predestined works and enables us to fulfill them. He is the One who empowers us to participate in the covenant of sonship. He does this by pouring the love of God into our hearts so that, in response to His first love, we are motivated to present ourselves as living sacrifices. When faith is working by this love, then we begin to have access to the grace of God. We are experiencing the grace of life for living.
Grace in Action
As we move along the pathway towards the hope of our completed sonship, there is a life to live, works to fulfill, and a process and suffering to be encountered. In all of these, God supplies abundant grace to those who live and abide in fellowship in the body of Christ. Jesus said, 'He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing'.45 God's manifold grace, flowing in fellowship and relational order, is vital in running the race set before us. Let us now briefly consider some of the aspects of this grace.
Grace and Gifts
'As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.' 1 Pet 4:10.
It is helpful to bear in mind that the gift of grace is not the same as gifts of the Spirit or the five-fold ministry gifts, though they work hand in hand. Paul said, 'Through Him we have received grace and apostleship'. Clearly, grace and apostleship are not the same thing. Without the grace of Christ, Paul could not function in his apostleship.46 The same is true of all the giftings. Paul also said we have 'gifts differing according to the grace that is given'.47 In this verse, the gift appears to be measured to the grace. They seem reversed when Paul says that grace is measured to each according to their gift.48 Whatever the case, it is clear that we are stewards of gifts and grace that can only be effective when working together. That is why Paul said, 'I became a minister of the gospel according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power'.49
Grace for the Work
'But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.' 1 Cor 15:10
The grace toward Paul raised him from being an enemy of Christ and a murderer of the saints, to be an apostle of Christ to the Gentiles.50 A further aspect of grace was then given to him to enable him to labour abundantly in his calling. This grace was not only found in the energy and strength to endure, but also in the skill and wisdom to be effective. That is why he could say, 'According to the grace of God which is given to me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation ...'.51 (Note the connection here between wisdom and grace.)
The Grace for Giving
'But as you abound in everything; in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us; see that you abound in this grace also.' 2 Cor 8:7
Paul is here urging the Corinthians to follow the example of the Macedonians in the grace of giving. In their deep poverty, the Macedonians had discovered the grace to give what seemed beyond their means. They had tapped into the divine principle of sowing and reaping in the grace of God.
Grace to Suffer
'But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.' 1 Pet 5:10.
We are called to fellowship in the sufferings of Christ52 so that we can cease from sin,53 labour as bond-slaves of Christ, and endure persecution for the gospel. Whatever the suffering, the 'God of all grace' can supply grace for suffering also. Paul discovered this after he prayed three times that the Lord would take away his 'thorn in the flesh'. The Lord said to him, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'54
Having resolved this question for himself, Paul could then encourage the Philippians to share in the same 'grace'. He said, 'In my bonds and in defense of the gospel, you are partakers in my grace'.55
Conclusion
Grace begins for us in the fellowship of the Godhead, and climaxes in our participation as sons of God with Christ, in boundless fellowship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All the way through, this grace proceeds in fellowship towards its purpose – more fellowship.
We remind ourselves, again, of the words of the apostle John. 'These things we write to you that you might have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.'56 May we, through the grace of God coming down to us in the administration of the lampstand church, give ourselves to seeing His life and grace multiplied. Then peace will also be multiplied in the fulfillment of the truth within us57 and the fruit of righteousness abounding.
1. Heb 10:29
2. 1Pe 4:10
3. Act 15:1; Eph 2:5, 8
4. Gal 1:15
5. Eph 3:7; 1Co 15:10
6. Rom 12:3; Rom 15:15
7. Eph 4:29
8. Joh 1:14, 18; Joh 3:16; 1Jn 4:9
9. 2Pe1:17; Luk 3:22; Luk 9:35; Luk 20:13
10. Col 1:19; Col 2:8-10; Joh 1:14-16
11. Pro 9:1; Eph 1:8; Col 2:2-3. These seven treasures of grace made Him the Messiah with the oil of the seven Spirits, Son of God with a name, Priest and Lamb with the blood of new creation life, Apostle/ Messenger with the word, Slave with righteousness not His own, Captain and Author and Finisher with the obedience of faith, Shepherd and King with a kingdom for His flock. (See What Every Christian Should Know About Jesus Christ – by Victor Hall, Vision One Oct 2011)
12. Rom 8:29
13. Joh 1:18
14. 1Pe 5:10
15. Eph 1:13
16. Joh 14:6
17. Heb 6:20; Heb 2:10
18. Jas 1:18
19. Rom 2:8; 1Co 13:6; Gal 3:1; Gal 5:7
20. Joh 8:32
21. Joh 1:14
22. Psa 45:2
23. Luk 4:17-22
24. Act 20:32; Act 14:3
25. 1Pe 4:10; Eph 4:29; Col 4:6
26. 1Jn 1:1-3
27. 1Ti 3:7
28. Luk 2:40
29. Col 3:16
30. Pro 11:30
31. Heb 5:6-7
32. Heb 7:27; Joh 1:29, 36
33. Joh 8:28; Joh 5:30; Joh 8:42. Even though, on another occasion, He said, ‘No one takes My life from Me, but I lay it down of Myself ’, (Joh 10:18) He did not draw upon His own intrinsic capacity in offering Himself.
34. Heb 2:9
35. Heb 9:14
36. Heb 10:14; Eph 5:2
37. Heb 11:6; Rom 4:16
38. Gal 5:6; 1Ti 1:14; 1Co 13:13; 1Th 5:8; 2Ti 1:13
39. Heb 9:14
40. Eph 2:8
41. Rom 10:17
42. Rom 10:8
43. Heb 10:29
44. Joh 16:14-15
45. Joh 15:5
46. Rom 1:5
47. Rom 12:6
48. Eph 4:7
49. Eph 3:7
50. Eph 3:2; Rom 11:13; 1Ti 2:7
51. 1Co 3:10
52. 2Co 1:5; Php 3:10
53. 1Pe 4:1
54. 2Co 12:9
55. Php 1:7
56. 1Jn 1:2
57. 2Pe 1:2
Author: David W Hall | Chapel on the Boulevard | Citywide Christian Assembly
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship | TCF
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