Grace is the unmerited divine assistance God gives for our regeneration and sanctification, and our salvation is a gift of benevolence from beginning to end. The English word comes from the Latin gratia, but its meaning has been shaped by the Greek charis, which denotes charm, favor, and a benevolence that bestows favor on inferiors. The apostles applied it to God because it carries power, so grace is the power to go on, grow, and succeed, not merely forgiveness at justification. Against the backdrop of God's justice, grace is never owed: because the wages of sin is death, death is all God owes us, as Nadab, Abihu, and Uzza show. He gives grace freely because of His unchanging character and His purpose, not because of obligation or constraint. Grace therefore cannot be earned or demanded, only humbly asked for. Pride, which breeds a sense of entitlement, is the great enemy of understanding it. God's choice of Jacob over Esau before birth (Romans 9) shows that calling rests on His mercy, not on works, and He may have planned our calling from the womb. His gifts permeate every part of Christ's body (1 Corinthians 12). Grace is also not a one-time event, since it supports believers all along the way, as manna did Israel in the wilderness. Yet one can receive it in vain and fall from it through unbelief and willing sin, so believers must keep faith and grow in grace.

Grace is God's free, unearned, continuous empowerment flowing from the Father and Son to His called children, and God owes none of it. John 1:14-17 shows Christ as full of grace and truth, and from His fullness we receive "grace for grace," a stacked, ongoing series of blessings rather than a one-time act or occasional bunches. These gifts include calling, repentance, forgiveness, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, protection, and the Holy Spirit, by which the Father and Son personally dwell in believers and enable them to carry out their responsibilities. Grace is not a substance God dispenses; it epitomizes the freeness of His patient, concerned generosity, and Christ is its personification, so that Titus 2 uses His whole ministry as shorthand for it. Like the daily manna, the gifts are supplied for every spiritual need in His creative work, though not for every desire. Justification is the clearest case: God justifies sinners before they become good, because Abraham was counted righteous by faith before circumcision, and the law shows sin but cannot save. This excludes human pride, which ruined Satan and would corrupt the building of godly character. God gives the gift before it is needed, so no one can boast. Grace does not abolish the law; it forgives so that believers can keep it as Christ did.

Grace is God's unmerited divine assistance, freely given out of His own character and never out of obligation. All He owes sinners is death, yet He gives because He is a giver who loves to save and help. The apostles took the Greek charis, which carried a sense of being gifted and empowered, and filled it with the covenant faithfulness of the Hebrew chesed, so that grace is God's benevolence and also His power enabling believers to live a new life in Christ. Ephesians 2:8 teaches that salvation by grace through faith is "not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Faith itself is a fruit of grace, since no one can come to Christ unless the Father draws him (John 6:44), and calling and election rest on God's mercy, not human will or works (Romans 9). Both salvation and faith are therefore gifts, leaving no room for boasting. Works do not earn grace; they glorify God and build character. Because every spiritual understanding and ability is received (1 Corinthians 2 and 4), grace humbles pride and forbids judging others. God resists the proud but gives more grace to the humble. Salvation can be lost only by refusing the gift, never through any fault of God.

Brethren, as we reflect on the life of Solomon, we see a man chosen by the grace of God, given extraordinary gifts to fulfill His purpose. Solomon, known as Jedidiah, the Beloved of God, received wisdom as a direct gift from Him, yet his focus shifted from the Giver to the gift itself. We must remember that everything we have and are is by the grace of God, enabling us to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to Him. Only through His grace have we obtained mercy to be called His people. Every aspect of our lives must be lived with the understanding that all we possess is possible solely by the grace of God. This grace is not a one-time act of mercy, but a continuous outflowing of His gifts to His spiritual children. It stands as the most vital element of our hope for salvation through the resurrection. He owes us nothing, yet freely gives of His love and power, that we might share a glorious, powerful, fulfilling, and unending life with Him and Jesus Christ. Let us always recognize that everything we have is by His grace, to be used as He sees fit for His beloved.

Grace, as revealed in Scripture, is the unmerited divine favor and gift of God, encompassing the entirety of the salvation process. As Ephesians 2:8-10 declares, by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. This gift extends beyond mere forgiveness of sin, embracing even the faith through which salvation is received, for no part of salvation originates from human effort. Grace, in its essence, causes rejoicing, as it is a gift freely given without constraint, reflecting the lovingkindness of God to humanity. It not only forgives the repentant sinner but brings joy and transforms the individual into a new creature. In its broadest application, as seen in II Corinthians 9:8, grace represents God's ability to provide all that is needed, ensuring sufficiency in all things for every good work. Specifically, as in Romans 1:5, it refers to the calling and apostleship given for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name's sake. From the beginning of creation, God's grace motivated Him to create the heavens, the earth, and beings in His image, not out of necessity but out of His nature to share what He is and has with others. As John 1:14 describes Jesus, He is full of grace and truth, giving and sharing His creative genius without constraint. This grace is endless, described in John 1:16 as grace heaped upon grace, piled on top of grace, motivating God's actions and reflecting His love. Every aspect of creation, designed with balance and purpose, serves as His gift to provide the right environment for His children. Throughout history, God has been out in front, equipping and preparing individuals like Abraham, Moses, David, and Paul, whose calling and apostleship were divine gifts, to fulfill His purpose. Even in the case of Jeremiah, God's grace formed and set him apart before birth, providing inspiration and enabling him to carry out his commission despite personal fears and challenges. God's grace does not remove human responsibility to choose, as seen in the lives of David and Jeremiah, who faced consequences for wrong choices yet were sustained by divine enablement. Similarly, in the account of Jonah, God's sovereign grace pursued and worked through his resistance, narrowing his choices to bring about the right outcome without negating his free moral agency. In all these instances, God's grace stands as the foundation, out in front of humanity, giving what is needed to accomplish His will and purpose.

To those called into the Body of Christ, being sharply aware God's grace, mercy, and favor, working within us, individually and within the body as a whole, to accomplish God's purpose as a privileged responsibility, that cannot be carelessly forsaken. Although God does not need us, He is counting on us to do our job, and to see His grace, mercy, and favor constantly at work within each of the elect in Jesus Christ, and to live accordingly. This topic is an incredible privileged responsibility we have been given, but it must never become our badge of righteousness, but rather a serious responsibility in becoming holy as God is holy. We must always have the attitude of one who beats the breast in grateful humility for being in a place we know we could not possibly be in except for the costly mercy of the Father and the Word. What I hope to accomplish with these next three messages is to help us appreciate just how special we are to God, and how much He is counting on His elect to be one united body in and through Jesus Christ because of the Word of God the grace of God literally resides in each one of us. This is an awesome thing to consider. But do we fully appreciate the various aspects of God's grace that are at work within us to be flowing out from each and every one of us? To those who have been called right now to have God dwelling in us to live according to His Spirit of grace these are very sobering words. God's grace is not a ticket to 'once saved, always saved.' But the very nature of God's perfect lovingkindness works in us to be doing the works of righteousness in unity just like He is from the inside out. Otherwise, we trample on the blood of our Savior Jesus Christ. His grace, His very character is to be ours right now through Jesus Christ so as to be a light to a world stumbling in the darkness. We need to understand the reality of God's grace and truth dwelling in us right now to live a way of life as part that light of righteousness to a dark world that is getting darker everyday. We have a job to do by the grace of God dwelling in us and part of that job is to be preachers of righteousness in word and deed, just as Noah was in his time that had become the absolute antithesis of the grace of God. It is only through the incredible sacrifice of God that we now have His grace dwelling in us to live up to the way of life that God expects, and is only possible now as a way of life from God through Jesus Christ, and the grace of God dwelling in each one of us. All that Israel failed to do because they were missing the most valuable and precious gift that is now ours to use, and have a vital part in the reality of the family of God now. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God by His grace dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. As we approach the Passover, let us faithfully consider the enormous cost the Father and the Son had to ensure that God's own Spirit of grace be intrinsically part of us as a new creation to produce righteousness. We have God's grace dwelling in us through Jesus Christ as a key to a way of life from God.

Grace is the absolutely free expression of God's lovingkindness toward man, always carrying the sense of an unearned and unmerited gift that produces joy, pleasure, or gratification. God extends this gift voluntarily because that is His nature, never because any obligation or human claim requires it. The enormous debt of sin can be met solely through the compassion of His heart, since humanity possesses no assets or works sufficient to satisfy it, and salvation comes without money or price. In the parable of the unforgiving servant, the master releases the debtor from an unpayable obligation purely out of pity, illustrating how grace is bestowed as a gift that places the recipient under continuing obligation to extend the same mercy to others. This pattern is reinforced by the requirement that forgiveness of fellow servants must flow from the heart in the same measure received, or the original grace is forfeited. Grace stands in direct contrast to works, for as soon as anything is deserved it ceases to be grace and becomes justice. God reserves the supreme right of executive clemency and is never bound to treat all persons equally or to extend mercy without limit. The word charis, drawn from ordinary Greek usage, was transformed by the apostles into a theological term denoting the free favor that brings salvation, justification, guidance, correction, and ultimately eternal life. This grace appeared most fully when the Word became flesh and dwelt among men, full of grace and truth, so that the incarnation itself constitutes the greatest gift, revealing God's attitude and providing living access to every subsequent provision needed for salvation. Grace upon grace therefore supplies whatever is required at each stage, always originating in God's sovereign choice rather than human merit.