The grace of God that saves us is amazing.
The grace of God that enables Christian living is also amazing!
Grace is the modus operandi of the Christian life. Grace has been defined as “the desire and power to do God’s will with joy.” And where does it come from? Grace comes from the Holy Spirit of God: “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).
Divine grace motivates our growth in discipleship:
- True believers have grace-based sanctity: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age… ” (Titus 2:11-12).
- We have grace-based identity: “But by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor. 15:10a).
- We can have grace-based ministry: … “and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Cor 15:10b).
- We have grace-based sufficiency: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9a).
God has blessed us with an abundance of grace: “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:17).
F.B. Meyer wrote,
“There is no limit to the abundance of God’s supply–it abounds! … The result of receiving more and more out of God’s fullness, is that we reign, not in the future life, but in this. Ours becomes a royal, a regnant, a triumphant life. This glorious life in which we are daily victorious over sin, daily using and scattering the unsearchable riches of Christ, daily helping others up to the throne-life, is within the reach of every reader of these words. He has made every provision for it, and is at this moment urging you to enter upon it. The only thing for you to do is receive the abundance of His grace and the gift of righteousness. Open your heart and life and He will fill it; dare to believe that He has filled it, even though you don’t feel it; and go forth to live a royal life, distributing the largess of His royal bounty!”
Let’s give thanks for this bountiful provision!
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O God, we stand in awe of your amazing mercy and grace. We have believed in Your grace to redeem us, and we also depend upon Your grace to sustain us in our trials. May we humbly yield to your will and trust in your enablement for daily living. In Christ’s name, amen.
Copyright 1998 by John Woodward. Permission is granted to reprint this article for non-commercial use. Please credit GraceNotebook.com. Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, New King James Version © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.