Understanding Grace – June 3, 2015

John 1:14-15     And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'"…

Psalm 85:9     Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.

Ezekiel 37:27     My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.

John 14:6     Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 17:24     "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

John 1:1     In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

What is grace? Is grace only limited to Jesus' life and ministry? Have you ever really stopped being pious and righteous long enough to grasp the definition of the word?  Would you be shocked to know that Jesus never used the word (grace). He just taught it and He lived it. The Bible never limits us to a statement or basic definition grace appears throughout its pages using numerous demonstrations of it. Understanding grace means requires us to utilize the Hebrew term that meant "to bend, to stoop." over time the word  came to include the idea of "condescending favor."

If you have ever been to London, you have may have seen royalty. If so, you may have noticed sophistication, aloofness, distance. On occasion, royalty in England will make the news because someone in the ranks of nobility will stop, kneel down, and touch or bless a commoner. That is grace. There is nothing in the commoner that deserves being noticed or touched or blessed by the royal family. But because of grace in the heart of the queen, there is the desire at that moment to pause, to stoop, to touch, even to bless.

To quote the late pastor and Bible scholar Donald Barnhouse : "Love that goes upward is worship; love that goes outward is affection; love that stoops is grace."