We are not just saved by grace; we are kept by grace and do all we do simply by the grace of God. We live every day by the grace of God. The wonder of the Love of our God for us is so great and awesome.
There is absolutely nothing we can do of ourselves to merit salvation; even under the Old Covenant Law of Moses, there was nothing they could do of themselves to earn salvation, because their salvation was based on their offering and its acceptance by the priest. If the lamb was declared perfect by the priest then it was an acceptable offering to forgive sins. Jesus is the perfect Lamb of God that was sacrificed for the forgiveness of our sins. It is never about what we have done or what we can do, it is about what He (Jesus) has done as the living sacrifice, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Grace is all about what He has done!
Under the Old Covenant law of Moses the blessings of God are conditional based on our works, but under the New Covenant of Grace, the blessings of God are not conditional based on what we do, but on what He (Jesus) has done. We are saved and blessed because of Jesus Christ under the New Covenant of Grace.
Grace does not mean we are no longer required to be obedient because Jesus has accomplished all things, but it only establishes the fact that our obedience is not what makes us perfect and qualifies us for the blessing, but it is the perfect obedience of Christ which is at work in and through us that qualifies us. Remember, it is what He has done, not what we do. When grace is at work, it is never us that are at work, it is Him at work.
“And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work” – (Romans 11:6).
Grace therefore allows us to receive His obedience; the obedience that enables us to become righteous and qualified for the blessing. He is our righteousness, and by His grace we become righteous. By His grace we become obedient. By His grace we are blessed.
Grace, being the unmerited favour of God, does not give us the license to sin, because it is the empowerment of God that enables the divine nature of Christ’s righteousness in us to be expressed in and through us. Any teaching or doctrine of grace that makes you feel comfortable living a sinful lifestyle is not God’s grace.
Grace allows us to live in newness of life. Our old nature of sin is dead (Romans 6:1-14). In Christ Jesus we no longer have the nature of sin…..that’s right; we no longer have a sinful nature! We have the divine nature of Christ which is activated by grace. This is what enables us to overcome the habit of sin and to reign in life (Romans 5:17, 21).
Grace is the ability of Christ’s nature (New Creation) within us to overcome the nature of sin. It empowers us to live free from sin, not to sin. It enables us to live holy. It is Christ who lives in us and through us.
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” – (Galatians 2:20).
Living without Christ frustrates the grace of God. We frustrate the grace of God by trying to live under the law from which Christ has in fact set us free. In living under the law we strive to earn His righteousness, His blessings and eternal redemption by our works and personal achievements.
“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” – (1 Corinthians 15:10).
Our identity is in His grace – it is who we are by His grace. Paul declares that his identity is by the grace of God, because the grace of God in him has made him what he is.
We are Saved by His Grace:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” – (Ephesians 2:8).
By the grace of God we have been reconciled back to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
We underestimate the value of the grace of God when we strive to live continually under the law and seek to earn God’s righteousness by our works, or when we do not consider the price that God our Father paid for our redemption when He gave His only Son to die for us.
Grace rescued us!
We are Justified by His Grace:
“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” – (Romans 3:24).
“That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” – (Titus 3:7).
To be justified is to be declared or made righteous in the sight of God, because without Christ’s grace all our righteous acts are like filthy and polluted rags.
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away” – (Isaiah 64:6 NIV).
It is only through the grace of God in Christ Jesus that we are declared righteous in the sight of God. It is His righteousness.
“And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith” – (Philippians 3:9).
“For He (God) hath made Him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” – (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Anyone who strives to earn God’s approval or to live a justified life by the law is cut off from grace; Christ is of no effect to you.
“Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace” – (Galatians 5:4).
We are Redeemed by His Grace:
“To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” – (Ephesians 1:6-7).
“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” – (Galatians 3:13-14).
To be redeemed is to gain or regain possession of (something) in exchange for payment. Christ has paid the price for our freedom from the curse of sin and its consequences, so we can now have the covenant blessings of Abraham, and receive the promise of the Spirit. Thus we are made heirs of eternal life. I am forgiven! This is what grace has done for us.
We are Built (Grow Up) by His Grace:
“And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified” – (Acts 20:32).
The desire of every believer is to grow in the knowledge of the Son of God, until we mature to fullness, just as Christ is. This is God’s desire for His Church, and it is only by grace we are built up (grow up) to this standard.
We become Obedient by His Grace:
“By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for His name” – (Romans 1:5).
The law was a standard that was set to enforce obedience in the children of Israel. But the law could not make them obedient, because their works could not measure up to its standard. Grace is therefore a replacement of the law, which is the required standard of the law that only Christ has fulfilled. In Christ Jesus the law is fulfilled, so we are therefore obedient by what He (Christ) has done. Those who are in Christ Jesus have fulfilled the law through Christ’s finished works.
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I didn’t come to destroy them, but to fulfill them” – (Matthew 5:17 ISV).
“Christ is the fulfillment of Moses’ Teachings (Law) so that everyone who has faith may receive God’s approval” – (Romans 10:4 GW).
We Reign in Life by His Grace:
“For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ….even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” – (Romans 5:17, 21).
We are made in the image and likeness of God to reign on earth (Genesis 1:26). God gave Adam the earth as his domain to rule over. Man’s destiny is to rule over the earth. Adam rebelled against God and lost his earthly kingdom to a rebellious and fallen angel, the devil, who has no right or authority to take it; But God’s original plan and purpose were still in place.
Through the grace of God, we have been redeemed to regain possession of our right and our rule over the earth. By the grace of God we can now reign on earth to eternal life.
We are a Remnant Chosen by Grace:
“Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace” – (Romans 11:5).
Many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:1-14). By grace we are the minority of people who have been chosen into His kingdom, and will remain faithful to God and continue to be a witness.
We receive the Gifts of God by Grace:
“Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith” – (Romans 12:6).
We have received the gifts of God by grace, and this grace enables us us to be good stewards (1 Peter 4:10-11).
We are Called by His Grace:
“But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by His grace” – (Galatians 1:15).
“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began”- (2 Timothy 1:9).
Grace is a privilege that gives us the right, or makes us worthy to partake of His calling.
We are Accepted as Beloved One (Adopted as Sons of God) by Grace.
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved” – (Ephesians 1:5-6).
Paul the apostle in Galatians 4:1-7, shows the difference between living under the law and grace. He clearly said, you are the son of God because you are “under Christ, which is Grace” through faith, or you are a slave because you are “under the law,” relating to God through the works of the law.
What a privilege to be called the sons of God. We are no longer slaves, and strangers to the covenant of promise. We are joint-heirs with Christ and partakers of His glory (Romans 8:14-18). It is only by grace we have been accepted into the family of God.
“That is why you are no longer foreigners and outsiders but citizens together with God’s people and members of God’s family” – (Ephesians 2:19 GW).
Grace helps us in time of need:
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” – (Hebrews 4:16).
Our world is full of evil and difficulties that challenge us on a daily basis. Man is in a perplexing situation. What a joy to know that we have a helper, and we can come boldly to Him because of His grace. Our help is in God.
“If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help” – (2 Chronicles 20:9).
“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth” – (Psalm 121:1-2).
Grace teaches and trains us to live a godly lifestyle, whereby we may serve God:
Grace does not only deliver us from afflictions, challenges or give us victory over the impossible, but it also empowers us to godly actions and to serve God with fear and awe in a way that pleases Him.
“Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” – (Hebrews 12:28).
“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” – (Titus 2:11-12).
We cannot of ourselves live a holy life. Sometimes we struggle with certain habits and lifestyle which we constantly strive to overcome by our own strength, but the truth of the matter is that they will always overcome us. Only by the enabling Grace of God that is at work within us can we find victory.
As Paul the apostle said, “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Romans 7:15-25). There is a constant battle between good (Grace) and evil (Law) in our minds for preeminence, but through Christ Jesus (Grace) we live victoriously.
Grace enables us to live sacrificially and to GIVE bountifully:
“Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also. Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also” – (2 Corinthians 8:1-7).
Giving is an important aspect of our worship of God, and it must become our lifestyle. However, it is important that we understand that the amount of our giving does not buy blessings from God, or make God bless us. If the amount of our giving is what releases God’s blessing in our lives, then it means that God’s blessings are conditional to the amount of our giving and what we do is what brings the blessing, not what Christ has done. This isn’t Grace, because Grace is all about what He has done, and not what we do.
Under the New Covenant of Grace, it is not what we have done, it is about what He (Christ) has done. We are already blessed by His grace. All things have been freely given to us in Christ Jesus. Though we are already blessed by His grace; yet, it is this grace that now enables us to give generously, not to bring or receive the blessing, but to express the blessing which is already given to us in Christ Jesus.
“Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Through Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing that heaven has to offer” – (Ephesians 1:3 GW).
“He (God) who did not spare His own Son (Jesus Christ) but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him (Christ) graciously give us all things?” – (Romans 8:32 ESV).
We are already blessed with all heavenly blessings. Grace has FREELY given us ALL things. It allows us to freely receive all of God’s promises and blessings.
I am not saying we shouldn’t give anymore, but rather, we should not be deceived to think or believe that it is our giving (what we do or the amount we give) that brings the prosperity, blessings and miracles; but it is what Christ has already done. All things are yours through Christ Jesus!
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich” – (2 Corinthians 8:9).
GRACE – God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.
G – God’s
R – Riches
A – At
C – Christ’s
E – Expense
His grace has settled every issue regarding our prosperity, blessings and miracles. It is not our giving that does this. Therefore, His grace now enables us to abound in giving; first, ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice, and then our money and possessions, bountifully given to His cause as a thanksgiving offering.
We don’t need to be fooled and fall for the gimmicks of hirelings, covetous and greedy men who are parading themselves as servants/men of the Most High God, and making the house of God a den of thieves and the ministry a merchant tool to exploit people for the sake of miracles and blessings. You don’t need to buy a miracle handkerchief, holy oil, miracle soaps, sweet honey or eat any sweet food from Israel or whatever place it comes from in order to qualify for a miracle or blessing. It doesn’t matter who preaches this and how they market it to you and call it a prophetic action etc. These are human and satanic gimmicks to rob and make gains out of you. Enough of this foolishness! You are already blessed by His grace. Selah.
Copyright © 2017 by Israel Onoriobe
Our ministry is a faith-based ministry and this material is provided free of charge to the body of Christ for equipping the saints. If this material has been a blessing to you or a source of encouragement we ask that you prayerfully consider giving a love offering to help us carry the message of the Kingdom of God to the nations – (Hebrews 10:6).
