Age of Grace

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “grace” as the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from Him. Unmerited means that God’s grace is not earned, it is not deserved and it cannot be purchased by us.

John 1:14-17 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

 

Grace is the most important concept in the world and in the Bible. I read that the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13 that if we compare faith, hope and love, the greatest of these is love (vs.13). But if he had included grace on this list, grace would have been number one, for grace is greater than love. He didn’t include grace because he was comparing things that “abide”. Grace does not abide. It didn’t exist before Adam’s fall because it was not necessary, and it will not exist after the final judgment. There will be no grace for those in Hell, and those in glory will have no more need of it. Today is the “age of grace”.

 

Romans 16:24 “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

 

In Christ, Brian