The Grace of God - a paper by tim quayle

Grace Revealed
God’s grace was clearly & frequently at work in the Old Testament times, God described himself to Moses as “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” Ex 34. The world was created by a God of grace.

• At the coming of Jesus, there was an outshining of God’s grace.  The grace revealed in the Old Testament carried a certain glory, but at the coming of Jesus there was an epiphany of grace - a shining out, a brilliance, a dawning of God’s grace, being revealed in Jesus Christ.
• Grace is Jesus’ undeserved generosity, his willingness to save us, cleanse us, renew us, perfect us and adopt us as sons, despite the fact that we are utterly unworthy and deserve only condemnation, punishment and abandonment.

Under the Law
Like humanity, we too were previously under the umbrella of the law, which God used to delineate the condition of the heart, to reveal the need of a saviour. 
In Romans 7:4-6 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.[a]
 
Married to the 'Mr. Law' 
Paul uses the analogy of marriage in this chapter regarding the law, once we were married to the law (or under the law).  There was no way of escaping the law, the only escape was death – our death.

Jesus and the Law
Jesus had 2 relationships with the law. 
Firstly He was innocent and obedient to it. He kept the law perfectly.
Secondly He received all the sin of humanity onto him.  He became the personification of sin then God judged Him in our place. The law finds Jesus guilty of all our sin and on the cross, He bore all of our guilt, all the writing that was against us was nailed to His cross.  He becomes the personification of evil and is cursed and the cross is the place where the judgement of God is revealed, and the love of God is revealed.  The law finds Him guilty, and He dies to the law once and for all.

We Died to the Law
Paul is saying in verse 7:4 - You Christians have died to law through the body of Christ.
 
Being Released from the Condemnation of the Law (Rom 8:1)-
Romans 7:6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. 
The law was the master that condemned us.  Having been released from the law, we are completely free from condemnation, which primarily comes from the accuser.  We have the freedom to mess up and still know no condemnation.
 
Now We Belong to Another to him who has been raised from the dead - To Jesus.
Previously we belonged to the line of Adam, now we belong to Christ.  We are In Christ, and through Him have access now to God the Father by the work of the Spirit.
 
This is Worked Out Through Faith. 
Paul said to the Romans (Rom 4:5)    5 And to the one who does not work but believes in[a] him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. 
We receive Christ’s complete righteousness, holiness, His sonship, through faith in Jesus.   Jesus’ perfect fulfilment of the law and all His righteousness is credited to our account - we are justified - properly, approved, especially in a legal, authoritative sense.  1344 /dikaióō, "made right, righteous, before God".
 
And by Grace
Writing to the Ephesians, Paul declared (Ephesians 2:8-9).   For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
It humbles the heart, as we can’t add anything to this deal.  Incredibly, we begin as a winner.
I love the story of the baptism of Jesus, before He had achieved anything for His father, He receives the pleasure, delight and love of the Father.  By grace, we are grafted into Christ in whom is all the father’s pleasure and delight.
 
Called to Reign
Paul says in Romans 5:17- For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one-man Jesus Christ.       

• Grace is greater than sin - Adam and Christ are not exactly parallel.  The grace of God is greater than the sin of Adam (5:15).
• Adam sinned only one sin.  Christ’s grace reverses millions of sins.
• Adam brought condemnation.  Jesus brings eternal justification (5:16). 
• Adam brought the reign of death.  Christ brings a far superior reign of life (5:17).

 
We Reign in Life
Not by works or personal strength or anything to do with us, but by receiving the abundance of God’s grace and the free gift of his righteousness. (Rom 5:17).  Because of our position in Christ, we now reign in life.  He reigns, therefore we in Him reign!  It’s a done deal!!  When we slip up and sin, grace abounds to us, the more we sin, the more the grace given us, which ultimately results in praise and glory being given to God!
Paul says in Romans 5:20 -   Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
How Do We Reign in Life?
In Romans 6, Paul highlights several things regarding reigning in life.  Let me mention 3.
1. Know it to be true. Romans 6:3 says, ‘Do you not know.....’.   There are a few things we need to know.

• All of us have been baptized into Christ’s death.  He who has died, is free from sin.   We who are in Christ are free from sins reign and experience everything that belongs to Christ.   As Terry Virgo says ‘We who were in Christ, experience the breaking of sin’s power’. 
• We were buried with Him and raised with Him in newness of life- Verse 6:4
• We have been Set free from Sin- 6:7.

2. Consider yourselves dead to sin, alive to God.  The word ‘Consider’, has the sense of reckon, decide, conclude.  Paul is saying ‘make sure you are lined up with truth.  Let God’s truth affect the way you think about yourself and shape your outlook on life.   We are no longer sinners; our old self and all its appetite have been crucified with Christ.  We are now alive, resurrected in Christ.   Reckon this to be true, because it is!! 
3. Do not present yourself to sin.  After these amazing promises (in verses 3 & 11) that Christ has achieved for us, our only response is to give ourselves to God.  Why we want to put ourselves back under the power of sin, when that is no longer our identity, we are alive in Christ, His righteousness is ours.  We have newness of life and fellowship with the Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit.  Wow! 
 
We are Fruitful
Romans 7:4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God...

Fruits of Grace 

1. Grace teaches us to say no to sin.  We are accepted, justified, righteous, sons and daughters of God, with the companionship of the Spirit. I am a victor before I start.  I am the delight of God’s heart before I have done anything. We start accepted, qualified, justified as a gift.  Good news.  This is the greatest motivator to stay close to God and say no to sin.   We have been included into the community of the Godhead, have friendship with the Spirit of Christ, have eternal life.   Grace lifts our eyes off the short term-ness of this life into the eternal plans of God. 
2. Compels us to do good works. Knowing that God has previously, prepared handpicked works specifically for each one of us, that is part and parcel of who He has made us, motivates us to work hard on the things that God leads us into - not that any work we do increases our righteous standing or impressiveness to God.  Nothing can impress God more. But grace motivates us to work hard.  Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. 
3. Gives us confidence in Prayer.  The ruler of the ever-increasing Kingdom of God- Christ, is seated on the throne of grace.    Therefore, when we spend time praying to God, we are presenting our requests to the throne of grace. If in prayer we come before a throne of grace, then any weakness or stumblings in our prayer will be overlooked. God looks upon our prayers through the intercessory work of Christ.  This means as it is a throne of grace, the weakness of the petitioner himself or me, shall not prevent the success of the prayer.
4. Equips us with gifts.   The ascended Christ has given grace to each one of His people, equipping each member with gifts, to serve the Church and be part of her mission of making Jesus known to the nations.  Alongside these gifts, this Jesus has also given ministry gifts to help equip the Church to health and maturity.  These gifts maybe evident within the local Church, but quite likely to be evident in the wider church family, to be received locally through relationship.
5. Motivates us to Give. God’s grace gives us an eternal perspective on life, comforts and possessions.  It produces evidence of the transformation it has brought to our lives.  When the disciples were flooded with the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, grace was on them all to such an extent, that they relinquished the right to their own possessions and shared with others who were in need. As a result, there was no one who was needy among them.  The outcome of God pouring out his grace, through his Holy Spirit, was a transformed community.   In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul mentions the grace of giving and how it had affected the believers in Macedonia. When the Macedonians had realized what God had given them, response was overflowing generosity, even in extreme poverty.
6.  2 Corinthians 8:1-5 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favour of taking part in the relief of the saints, and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.
7. 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 

 
The Macedonians Response to Grace

1. They gave themselves first to the Lord. The response of grace upon them, was their devotion to Jesus, before anything else.  Grace had brought such liberty that possessions and money had lost its attractiveness and Jesus was their first love.
2. Then they gave themselves to the apostles. They gave themselves to Paul and his companions, identifying with their apostolic calling.  Their giving was not a private deal, but a partnership with the apostolic mission. Paul turns the focus of this discussion to the Corinthian Church, who were struggling to fulfil a promise of giving funds to the struggling Jerusalem Church.

 
Paul Encourages the Corinthian Church in Cheerful Giving
He is not after guilt-giving, or ‘through gritted teeth’ giving.  He is calling on faith-filled, cheerful, and joyful giving.  He is not even after ‘10 percent’ giving, he is after grace-motivated giving, which places no restraints or limits on how much it gives but in recognising everything we have belongs to God anyway.
 
Sowing and Reaping
Paul uses the terminology of sowing and reaping, used in agriculture, in the area of giving.  He is saying if you sow (context is finance), God will give you more seed.  If you become involved in giving, God will multiply your seeds to give more away.   Sowing (or giving) is a principal God invites us to test him on (Mal 3:10). 
 
Having All You Need.
Paul, highlighting God’s incredible generosity, says to the Corinthians - as you trust in Him, God promises to sustain you, provide for you, and increase your seed to sow, so that you may continue to ‘abound in every good work’.