God’s grace is favour.
Some call it His unmerited favour, the idea being that we didn’t deserve it yet He offered it anyway.
We have been given access into His grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1-2
Being justified, or made right, by faith, we are then accorded peace and granted access into the grace in which we stand. Justification is being made guilt free. This is another benefit of grace.
Grace is charis. It means favour. It is ‘the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life, including gratitude (WE Vines).’
Grace is ‘that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness’,’ according to WE Vines. He also calls it, ‘goodwill, loving-kindness and favour.’ Grace is good.
Following on from this, grace is ‘the spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace (Vines).’ This includes the benefits of grace, and the gifting that comes with it.
Grace that saves
We are saved by grace.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Ephesians 2:8
He offers grace, and through faith we are saved when we accept His divine favour. We could do nothing to earn His grace. It came even when we were spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins.
Grace cannot be bought. It comes because Jesus made it possible at the cross.
God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:4-7
His grace was toward us even when we were steeped in sin. This is because Jesus died for us. He took our place at the cross. He paid the price of our sin. He made the way clear for us to be forgiven.
When we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly…
Romans 5:6
Before we knew it Jesus gave His life for us.
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 58
Yes, so His grace, His favour, demonstrates His great love for us in giving His Son so that we could be recovered.
That is great favour. That is immense love. That is unfathomable grace.
