.... "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work."
.... Grace, therefore, goes far beyond a simple attitude of unmerited favor; grace is the working of God in and through a believer’s life, an actual empowerment, enabling the Christian both to overcome sin and to become a servant to righteousness. Consider this, based on the following quotations:
.... "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."
(Romans 6:14)
.... "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."
(1 Corinthians 15:10)
.... "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
(2 Corinthians 12:9)
.... "of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power."
(Ephesians 3:7)
.... "For the grace of God which brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age."
(Titus 2:11-12)
.... The Scriptures say of Jesus, in Luke 2:40, that "the grace of God was upon Him." Apparently this is what Jesus Himself was referring to when He said, "Of Myself I can do nothing. The Father who is in Me, He does the works . . ."
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.... Thus Jesus, empowered by God’s grace, worked out His life perfectly in doing all that the Father commanded Him. Jesus is the pattern, the Firstborn, and He has shown us what it means to work out our own salvation. By the working of God in and through our lives, referred to as grace, we are able to follow God in obedience, and be conformed to the image of Christ as a result.
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.... A further note on grace and works. Apparently ‘works’ may be defined as ‘efforts that are born out of our own initiatives’ while ‘grace’ may be defined as ‘an empowerment from God to follow His initiatives in obedience.’ (Also; grace is sometimes supplied by other Christians, as in
Eph 4:29, and is ultimately traceable back to God.)
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.... Whenever the Scriptures speak of grace and works, the perspective we have just described is born out. Two passages are vital to this argument, and both include this perspective in their context:
.... "Therefore my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."
(Philippians 2:12-13)
.... "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. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
(Ephesians 2:8-10)
.... When God prepares the works beforehand, works them through us, and works on us through them, it is our duty to cooperate with His working. By His grace He has empowered us for this very thing. Thus, on the Day of Judgment, what can we do but say to Him, "We are unprofitable servants; for we have done that which was our duty to do"? (Luke 17:10).
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.... Thus, God alone will be glorified on that day; and He will be glorified in us because we were conformed to the image of His Son, according to the mystery of His will. "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord." This is Predestination Phase 3.
To continue this discussion with Part 29. On God's working/Man's disobedience, click here.
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