Today we begin a study on the Grace of God and we will begin a journey of all that God has completed on our behalf in Christ Jesus. Beginning from 1 Peter 4:10, we read, “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” – wherein we see without doubt that the grace of God is multi-faceted and diverse in nature. This grace can be defined as the unmerited favor of God, which has everything to do with God’s goodness and nothing to do with our own works. This grace has been reserved for the children of God in Christ Jesus; it is not open to every single person, no! We should not be living the same life with unbelievers, there are benefits that are open to us when we are adopted into God’s family. This was made clear in the time Jesus encountered a Canaanite woman who sought His help. We read, “And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed” (Matthew 15:22); this woman used a language used by the Jews and declared Jesus’ lordship despite her not being a part of the covenant God had with the Jews. Jesus relented and did not respond to the woman, and at last said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (v.24). The Lord made it clear that His benefits were not open to the whole world except to God’s chosen people, because this is a problem we still deal with even today – where people hunt after God’s benefit outside of having a relationship with Him. But the woman did not stop there, she continued worshipping Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” (v.25) – she did not stop, she was not offended at Him, her desperation for her daughter’s freedom was greater than her need to withhold her dignity! But Jesus still did not relent, He responded, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs” (v.26) – He had not yet given in. In great humility, the woman responded, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table” (v.27). Seeing her humility, desperation and faith, the Lord finally gave in, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour” (v.28).
In Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus, we read, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8); church, grace is in perfect tense, in that while it was completed and perfected by God in the past, this same grace is still working for us today and will continue to work for us well into our future and end. And the apostle made it clear that we are saved by grace through faith, which makes our faith very important for appropriating what we have in Christ. But when we do not know what we have, when we ourselves are not sure – how do we exercise our faith? Consider again the words of the apostle to Titus, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11), this shows us that although it is possible for all men to experience God’s grace, we still ought to respond in like manner to walk into this experience. God has opened a door to His grace, but He has not imposed it on any man. Reading from Apostle John’s letter, we see “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 1:2). Yes, this is the will of God, He wishes that His children may be in good health and that they have a prosperous soul; full of joy, peace, compassion, love and faith! And we need to be stubborn, because we know that God has provided for everything we need in Christ Jesus, and that is what our faith is based on! Hallelujah!
Prayer
Father, we thank You for the gospel of Your son Jesus Christ, the gospel of grace, which is Your manifested power to salvation for all us who believe. We thank You that in salvation, you have packaged everything we will ever need, all things pertaining to righteousness and life, all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies – we lack nothing! May we continue resting in Your sufficiency, against all logic and experience, You are enough! In Jesus’ name, amen!
