Grace: God's Riches At Christ's Expense
Jesus came full of grace and “out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift]” (John 1:16 Amplified Bible).
Grace is a gift from God that produces gracious character traits in believers.
Enjoy these wonderful truths:
(See full-text Scriptures below devotion.)
1. Grace is poured out on us generously.
2. It saves and justifies us, giving us "eternal encouragement."
3. It cost our Lord His life.
4. Sin can’t overcome it.
5. It enables us to fulfill God’s kingdom purposes.
6. It makes us serious about our sins.
7. It grows in us as we humble ourselves.
8. It produces holiness in our lives.
9. It can’t live in a bitter heart.
10. It’s an element of godly speech.
11. It helps and sustains us in difficulty.
12. Grace freed us from external law-keeping and from trying to be "good enough."
Amen!
💙Beyond 1-minute for those who want more:
1. It’s poured out on us abundantly, generously.
John 1:14-17: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, 'This is the one I spoke about when I said, "He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me."') Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
Titus 3:5-7: "He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."
2. It saves and justifies us, giving us "eternal encouragement."
Romans 3:23-25: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished."
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17: "May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our
Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word."
3. It cost our Lord His life.
2 Corinthians 8:9: "For you know the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he
became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."
Ephesians 1:7: "He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins."
Hebrews 2:9: "But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for
a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered
death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone."
4. Sin can’t overcome it.
Romans 5:20: "God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they
were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant."
5. It enables us to fulfill God’s kingdom purposes.
Acts 4:33: "The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all."
Romans 6:1: "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?"
Romans 6:14-15: "For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!"
7. It grows in us as we humble ourselves.
James 4:4-6: "You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 5 Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. 6 And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'"
1 Peter 5:5: "In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'"
2 Peter 3:18: "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."
8. It produces holiness in our lives.
2 Timothy 1:9-10: "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, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel."
9. It can’t live in a bitter heart.
Hebrews 12:15: "See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."
10. It’s an element of godly conversation.
Colossians 4:6: "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."
11. It helps and sustains us in difficulty.
2 Corinthians 12:9: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."
Hebrews 4:16: "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
12. Grace freed us from external law-keeping and trying to be "good enough."
See All or Nothing: Christ’s Fulfillment of the Law.
Galatians 2:21: "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
Galatians 5:4: "You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace."
Hebrews 13:9: "Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace,
not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do
so."
Ephesians 2:4-9: "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich
in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in
transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God
raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms
in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the
incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace
you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it
is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."
No comments:
Post a Comment