Grace upon grace

Hello everyone,
I go to Brigham and Women's next Tuesday for the pre-op visit. Hopefully everything will go smoothly - I am getting a cold but hope that all those immune-boosting supplements along with the Zoe life of God will not allow the virus to take hold. Not much activity on the home front - we are still getting estimates from contractors. Today is April 15 - the crunch day for Paul - please continue to pray for him as he finishes up all the taxes in the midst of chaos. Also please pray for wisdom for me about when I should stop taking the supplements before the surgery.

This morning I was considering the title of this website along with the verse from 1 Peter 4:10 and thought about the "traditional" definition of grace which is God's unmerited favor. Now, I am not a Bible scholar nor do I know Greek, but I did some research this morning about this word. First of all, it appears 128times in the New Testament. Here are a few definitions from well-known resources:

Strong’s Dictionary of New Testament words defines the Greek word for ‘grace’ as follows:

“grace” = 5485 charis (khar'-ece); from 5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude): KJV-- acceptable, benefit, favor, gift, grace (-ious), joy, liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy).

Strong’s says that charis comes from a root word, “chairo” which is defined as follows:

chairo (khah'-ee-ro); a primary verb; to be "cheerful", i.e. calmly happy or well-off; impersonally, especially as salutation (on meeting or parting), be well: KJV-- farewell, be glad, God speed, greeting, hall, joy (-fully), rejoice.

Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament words says of charis:

GRACE = 1. charis ^5485^ has various uses, (a) objective, that which bestows or occasions pleasure, delight, or causes favorable regard. (From Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words) (Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

What really touched me about these definitions were two things: the divine influence upon the heart and all the references to joy, pleasure, delight. So, while grace surely is God's unmerited favor - it is more - it has to do with the divine influence upon the heart which issues in joy. Hence the verse in 1 Peter 4:10 about the varied grace of God. As I considered grace, I realized that we are in the age of grace - the age of the possibility for God to influence our heart to the extent that we enjoy Him! What an age to live in! How much we need to take advantage of this age of grace. Even the throne of God is the throne of grace! Hebrews 4:16 says:
Let us therefore come forward with boldness to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace for timely help.

When God became incarnate and stepped into humanity, that was an expression of grace. Grace came through Jesus Christ: John 1:17: For the law was given through Moses; grace and reality came through Jesus Christ.

The footnote from the Recovery Version says:
The law makes demands on man according to what God is; grace supplies man with what God is to meet what God demands. The law, at most, was only a testimony of what God is (Exo. 25:21), but reality is the realization of what God is. No man can partake of God through the law, but grace enables man to enjoy God. Reality is God realized by man, and grace is God enjoyed by man.

One of the names of God is "the God of all grace". All grace is significant here in light of the suffering a little while in 1 Peter 5:10:
But the God of all grace, He who has called you into His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself perfect, establish, strengthen, and ground you.

The footnote for all grace is really marvelous:
All grace refers to the riches of the bountiful supply of the divine life in many aspects ministered to us in many steps of the divine operation on and in us in God's economy. The initial step is to call us, and the consummate step is to glorify us, as mentioned here in who has called you into His eternal glory. Between these two steps are God's loving care while He is disciplining us, and His perfecting, establishing, strengthening, and grounding work in us. In all these divine acts, the bountiful supply of the divine life is ministered to us as grace in varied experiences. The God of such grace will perfect, establish, strengthen, and ground the persecuted believers after they have suffered a little while.
Surely the grace we receive outweighs the burden of the suffering so our affliction can be referred to as momentary and light: 2 Corinthians 4:17: For our momentary lightness of affliction works out for us, more and more surpassingly, an eternal weight of glory,

So grace is ministered to us in each of our suffering experiences and is more than sufficient. Corinthians 12:9: And He has said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather boast in my weaknesses that the power of Christ might tabernacle over me.

Here the footnote speaks of why suffering is required:

For the sufficiency of the Lord's grace to be magnified, our sufferings are required; for the perfectness of the Lord's power to be shown forth, our weakness is needed. Hence, the apostle would most gladly boast in his weaknesses that the power of Christ might tabernacle over him. Grace is the supply, and power is the strength, the ability, of grace. Both are the resurrected Christ, who is now the life-giving Spirit dwelling in us (1 Cor. 15:45; Gal. 2:20) for our enjoyment.

Another wonderful verse about grace is in Ephesians 1:6: To the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He graced us in the Beloved;

God has put is in the position of being the object of His grace and favor, that is, that we may enjoy all that He is to us!

No wonder John Newton wrote that grace is amazing!

Here is a wonderful hymn about grace and a link to the tune - in case you want to sing along:

Link to tune:

1 Grace in its highest definition is
God in the Son to be enjoyed by us;
It is not only something done or giv’n,
But God Himself, our portion glorious.

2 God is incarnate in the flesh that we
Him may receive, experience ourself;
This is the grace which we receive of God,
Which comes thru Christ and which is Christ Himself.

3 Paul the Apostle counted all as dung,
’Twas only God in Christ he counted grace;
’Tis by this grace-the Lord experienced-
That he surpassed the others in the race.

4 It is this grace-Christ as our inward strength-
Which with His all-sufficiency doth fill;
It is this grace which in our spirit is,
There energizing, working out God’s will.

5 This grace, which is the living Christ Himself,
Is what we need and must experience;
Lord, may we know this grace and by it live,
Thyself increasingly as grace to sense.


So dear ones, enjoy the grace that is your portion today!

Much love,
Joanne