SIX FORMS OF GRACE

Grace means that God does not always give us what we are deserving of, but He gives us what we can never deserve. 

Grace is the eternally planned consummation of all God’s blessing. Grace is the value of the content of God’s love; the power by which He reveals this unending love. Grace takes many forms in the Bible. 

Mere intellectual information is not enough to understand grace; it is the enlightenment of the eyes of the heart, our inner vision of Christ. To understand grace, we need God’s direct illumination in our hearts, wisdom to grasp the depth of grace, the revelation to unveil the content of grace and the patient to wait on God through the process.

 In this process, we must remember that God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). This means that we must be ready to accept the form of grace we need at each stage of our lives and embrace it. With this in mind we will briefly enumerate six forms of grace.

Grace for All: This is the benevolence which is poured out upon all men, regardless of their spiritual condition, religious background, faith, race and so on. This benevolence is distributed to both friends and enemies of grace. This gift is given to the persecuted and persecutor, the captive and captor, the servant and master; irrespectively of whomever, this grace is given to everyone without discrimination. “…for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45). Those who opening renounce the lordship of Christ over their lives, the insurgents and militants, the kidnapers and thieves, however bad they are or we see them to be, they enjoy this grace in the same proportion as they unerring. 

Grace of Redemption: God is gracious in making provision for the salvation of all men. The redeeming grace is that generous provision of salvation on the cross of Calvary and God is also gracious in delaying judgment, as He does not want us to perish. This grace is in accepting the sacrifice of Christ and believing in Him. “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21). We must recognize that calling on the name of the Lord is not a mere verbal petition directed toward God, but more than simply making a request for salvation from the Saviour.

Grace of Security: This is that manifestation of God’s benevolence by which Christians are kept secure from damage in spite of the practice of sin. Psalm 91 tells about dwelling in the secret place of the Lord and been secured from the enemies. This stage of grace is for those who have taken a step more from the grace of redemption. We must understand that the ‘secret place’ is a process or a facilitator and not a destination. This is for people who have developed a walking relationship with God.

Grace of Consecration: God wants to walk with us before He works through us. Consecration simply means setting oneself apart from evil, turning to the Lord, and be prepared to be used by Him. This consecration mainly is been separated from sinful living to prepare us for God’s service. This is the grace which works within the true believer in such a way as to bring growth, maturity, and progress in the process of becoming Christ-like. Romans 12:1 - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. How will this be done "You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 20:7). This is a grace of separation as Barnabas and Paul were separated for service (Acts13:2)

Grace of Service: This is the grace that enables us to minister in such a way as to manifest the life of our Lord through the saints as members of His body. This grace is released to everyone who has been given a measure of gift for service for the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:7). This grace is to enable the ‘servant’ carry out the service as a good steward displaying the manifold love of Christ. This service is in preaching, personalizing and practicing Christ before the world. You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love (Galatians 5:13 NIV).

Grace of Endurance: He that endures to the end shall be saved (Matthew 24:13) and he that overcomes until the end I will give to him authority over the nations (Revelation 2:26). As Christians, stamina is needed in the work of God. This means that this grace is given at special times of need, especially during adversity or suffering. Like Paul, when we are walking with God and working for God, our lives will be utilized even to the point of death. We must be ready to keep our heads in all situations, endure hardship, do the work God has assigned us to and carry out our duties. The grace has been provided but you must notice that the grace of endurance does not come to those who have not enjoyed the other forms of grace. At this point we can boldly say in spite of every odd, ‘we have endured the suffering, finish the race, and kept the faith and await of crowns’ (2 Timothy 4:7).

It is with Love from @outhori5ed; GRACE is the Real Deal!