II Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”
I mentioned yesterday that divine grace has many applications in the Bible. In the Old and New Testaments, it refers to favor, charm, and a gift. Salvation is given as a gift by grace through faith because God chose to favor the human race – in spite of our sin.
Christ Himself is said to be full of grace. Psalm 45:2 says of Christ that “Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.” The abundance of grace in His character, actions, and words was apparent to all who would hear Him with an open heart.
God’s grace does not end at salvation. In fact, salvation is only the beginning of the favor He wants to show to every believer.
Every bit of real spiritual growth in the believer’s life is the result of grace – God’s favor and blessing of that individual. Paul expresses it very clearly in I Corinthians 15:10 where he testifies: “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
After salvation, God’s grace is enabling power to do the will of God. It is not only helpful when times are good, but also when we are unable to move forward and distressed. God’s answer to Paul when he was struggling to know what to do about a certain trial was this: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (II Cor. 12:9).
After Paul understood this message, he proclaimed in the rest of that same verse: “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” This answer was all he needed to go on serving the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Galatians, Paul says that some are “fallen from grace.” It means that they had abandoned the very teaching that saved them. It also means that they thought that pleasing God and spiritual growth would occur through fleshly efforts (like the religious leaders in Israel): “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:3).
It must be remembered that all good things come to us that are saved through God’s grace. We do not deserve it, but God loves to give grace (ability) to us to be what He wants and to do what He wants, and to have what He wants to give us and through us to others – and it is for His glory.