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JOYOUS GRACE – ENDLESS PEACE

1 Cor.1:3 – May joyous grace and endless peace be yours continually from our Father God and from our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One!

I love the writings of the Apostle Paul. Even his introductions are filled with revelation and blessing. In this greeting Paul is proclaiming joyous grace and endless peace over our lives. First there is this thing called grace. Many call it unmerited favor; that doesn’t take us nearly far enough. I think of grace as the influence of Sovereign Joy on our lives that attracts us and satisfies us with Christ. Grace is the beginning and the completion of my faith. Here is a thought from the Passion Notes on grace.

“The Greek word charis, in its original sense, is descriptive of that which brings pleasure and joy to the human heart, implying a strong emotional element. God’s grace includes favor and supernatural potency, and it is meant to leave us both charming and beautiful. In classical Greek it was meant to convey the attitude of favor shown by royalty.”

This grace introduces us into the endless, supernatural peace of God. Paul says it like this, in Romans 5:1 – “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. The Passion Bible says it like this – “Our faith in Jesus transfers God’s righteousness to us and he now declares us flawless in his eyes. This means we can now enjoy true and lasting peace with God, all because of what our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, has done for us.”

Grace opens the door to endless supernatural peace in our lives. I see peace in three major ways flowing from God’s grace. First, I have peace with God. My sinful life and sinful condition had kept me separated from the Lord. His work of grace has reconciled me to God. Because my sins are gone I am at peace with God. Next, I am at peace with myself. It is easy to be filled with strife when you are living in darkness. Now that I have come out of the dark and into the light I am actually at peace with myself. If I am accepted by God I can surely accept myself. Because I have been reconciled to God my very being is flooded with the Lord Himself. His presence is my peace. So I receive Paul’s prayer over my life today, I receive joyous grace and endless peace as my inheritance.

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GRACE – GRACE – GRACE

Jn.1:16 – And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

This is an attempt by John to describe infinite. Describing infinite is actually an exercise in futility (its one of the reasons the Lord gave us a prayer language) but those who have tasted grace keep trying to describe it anyway. John says that in knowing Christ we begin to have grace (unlimited, matchless grace) poured out on us. The Lord being an uncreated, infinite being has attributes that are infinite. In other words, grace is unending. By putting ourselves in a receiving mode to receive grace for grace we first find ourselves consumed with Him. He comes to us in the person of the Holy Spirit and one touch leaves us breathless. We were created as spirit beings, made in His image. Because of our uniqueness nothing less than infinite will satisfy our hungry hearts. Here is how Jonathan Edwards describes it.

“So Christ is the greatest treasure of his church: he is their pearl of great price; he is the church’s portion and chief good. In him is contained all the church’s fullness; “Of his fullness she receives, and grace for grace” [John 1:16]. All her happiness, all the covenant blessings that she hath, are bound up in Christ. The church hath the Holy Spirit, which is the sum of all her good, no otherwise than through Christ and in Christ. God hath given the Spirit, not by measure unto him and from him [John 3:34]; it flows to his members, as the oil on Aaron’s head “went down to the skirts of his garments” [Psalms 133:2]. Particularly, ’tis only in and through Christ that the church hath holiness, expressed in the law of God, and happiness, expressed by the pot of manna.”

So the point that I am trying to make is this; there is more of God available for all of us than any of us can begin to imagine. Putting ourselves in a receiving mode is where this grace for grace begins. The Passion Translation brings out the results of this life of soaking in grace for grace. Jn.1:16 – TPT – “And now out of his fullness we are fulfilled!

And from him we receive grace heaped upon more grace!” So as the Lord heaps on us grace upon grace upon grace, our hearts are finally filled and satisfied to the full. GRACE – GRACE – GRACE

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GRACE HEAPED UPON GRACE

John 1:16 -TPT -And now out of his fullness we are fulfilled!

And from him we receive grace heaped upon more grace!

This verse comes from someone who has drunk deeply from God’s fountain of grace. Grace not only introduces us to the Lord, it brings us to a place of drawing from His bounty. Grace is about more than a ticket to heaven when we die, it is free access into His abundance of life now. John said that he had seen Jesus, the author of this grace. Now he says that grace was heaped upon him all throughout his life. Matthew Henry, the great Puritan expositor, had also drunk profusely from this fountain of grace. Here is something Henry says about grace upon grace.

“The blessing received. It is grace; the good will of God towards us, and the good work of God in us. God’s good will works the good work, and then the good work qualifies us for further tokens of his good will. As the cistern receives water from the fulness of the fountain, the branches sap from the fulness of the root, and the air light from the fulness of the sun, so we receive grace from the fulness of Christ.”

We are drinking and drinking continually from this fountain of life. We are totally satisfied and sustained by grace. Because of grace I can now drink, and frankly love to drink, from this fountain of life. The more I drink the more I want, the more I drink the more I lose the taste for the things of this life. The more I drink, the more I change. This is the amazing work of grace, I am not only justified, I am sanctified by drinking from His cup. Here is another thought from Henry on today’s verse.

“Grace for grace is one grace to improve, confirm, and perfect another grace. We are changed into the divine image, from glory to glory, from one degree of glorious grace to another.”

Many today don’t take this message of grace far enough. They think that grace covers us so we can continue to derive our satisfaction from the pleasures of this life. How tragic! Grace doesn’t just cover our past, it introduces us to this new life where Jesus is making all things new. I think I will join John and drink again from this fountain of grace until I can also say, I have received from Him, grace heaped upon grace.

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SATISFIED AND SUSTAINED BY GRACE

For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

II Corinthians 12:8-10

“My grace is sufficient.” What could that possibly mean? God was talking to Paul about a grace that began the day he was on the road to Damascus. That day, Jesus appeared to Paul, and he tasted forgiveness and love beyond anything he could ever have imagined. Paul tasted a joy in Christ that was unspeakable and full of glory. It was this grace of God that sustained Paul through all of those horrible days of trial and persecution. The joy of the Lord that Paul found in knowing Christ was bigger and better than anything he had ever experienced before.

All of us get tired of tough times. No one likes to go through dark days. But in the midst of these days, the Lord will come to us. As Paul cried out to the Lord to remove the cause of his suffering, the Lord answered his prayer in the greatest way possible. The Lord Himself came to Paul again. He poured out His grace. This grace is sufficient. This grace will satisfy us. This grace is why we are alive.

There was one day darker than any of the days the disciples, Job, or Paul had ever experienced. It was the day that Jesus died.

Jesus was beaten beyond recognition. As He was punched, spit upon and nailed to the cross, creation itself was effected. The sky grew dark; the sun was eclipsed. The earth itself trembled as earthquakes began to destroy parts of Jerusalem. For the first time, Jesus lost the sense of His Father’s presence, as He cried out,

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matt. 27:46

Have you ever prayed that prayer? All of us have felt forsaken at one time or another, just like Jesus did. But the good news is that when He suffered and died for us on the cross, Jesus actually entered our storm. As He entered into the darkest storm of all, as He carried our sins and bore our judgment that day, Jesus made a way for all of us to get through the storms in our own lives. He died so that we could live. Jesus went through His storm so that He could come to us in ours.

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STRONG IN GRACE

2Tim. 2:1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

Be strong in grace!!! Paul is describing something supernatural at its very nature. Be strong, endunamoo, or be infused with the power of God. In Paul’s letter to his spiritual son Timothy he is literally prophesying or proclaiming the possibility of receiving infused strength. There are a number of ways we can be strengthened by the Lord. We can be infused with power by soaking in His presence. We can also receive His power through the laying on of hands or by receiving the power of God in a sermon. Spiritual gifts such as prophesy, a word of wisdom, or a word of knowledge can also infuse us with divine power. Here are some thoughts from Spurgeon on today’s verse.

“Christ has grace without measure in Himself, but He hath not retained it for Himself. As the reservoir empties itself into the pipes, so hath Christ emptied out His grace for His people. “Of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” He seems only to have in order to dispense to us. He stands like the fountain, always flowing, but only running in order to supply the empty pitchers and the thirsty lips which draw nigh unto it. Like a tree, He bears sweet fruit, not to hang on boughs, but to be gathered by those who need. Grace, whether its work be to pardon, to cleanse, to preserve, to strengthen, to enlighten, to quicken, or to restore, is ever to be had from Him freely and without price; nor is there one form of the work of grace which He has not bestowed upon His people.”

So let’s get our eyes on our heavenly High Priest. We can come boldly before the throne of grace and find grace in our time of need. After all, didn’t John say grace and truth are in Him? He also said that we have received fullness of grace from the Lord. And what about grace upon grace? It’s as if we receive measure after measure of supernatural empowerment from the presence of the Lord.

So what kind of challenges are you facing today? Are you overwhelmed by obstacles to the dreams the Lord has given you? Are you facing discouraging situations in your family or personal life? Or maybe you are in need of healing in your body. So let’s receive from Paul’s exhortation, “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus”.

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UNTIMELY BIRTH

1 Cor.15:8-10 – Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

Paul’s life is a contrast of a human controlled by his natural passions and the mess that leads to, and then someone filled and consumed by the Spirit. This supernatural transformation is the definition of God’s grace. Paul’s out of control life was not one controlled by immorality or drunkenness, but it was another version of depravity. We may tend to think someone addicted to opioids or alcohol is a great candidate for God’s grace (and they are) but there are other versions of sinful behavior that need God’s intervention.

Paul was an extremely ambitious man before his conversion. You know the drill, anything goes to get to the top, and get to the top he did. He had risen to the ranks of power in Israel calling himself, “a Pharisee of Pharisees”. His allegiance to his view of Judaism and his lust for power blinded his eyes resulting in someone literally “breathing out” profanity against the followers of Christ. He lived in an atmosphere of hate leading the persecution against the Christians. Paul had become a great candidate for the display of God’s grace. Here is what the early Lutheran theologian, Hesshus, said about Paul and the phrase “untimely birth” in today’s passage.

“Untimely born – ektroma – miscarriage or abortion

I was like an untimely birth – a disgusting mass of flesh, without life and without light. I was not reborn by the Spirit, I was not made new in Christ; I was destitute of all life and righteousness; I was a most disgusting mass of flesh in the sight of God- in fact, I was persecuting the church of God.”

That is a great description of fallen man. Paul called himself an abortion or a miscarriage, a disgusting mass of flesh. Without Christ that’s what we are, absolutely disgusting. That’s why the contrast is so amazing. The grace of God is a work of metamorphosis, making us into something beautiful. One moment Paul was a disgusting mass of flesh, the next moment he was changed into a powerful man of God. No wonder grace is called amazing.

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CAPTURED BY GRACE

Gal.1:15 – But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace,

Paul seemed to be fixated all his life on that moment in time on the Damascus Road that changed his life forever. Everything changed that day. What caused the change? The obvious is what he saw on his way to Damascus, he said Jesus came to him with a light shining out from Him brighter than the sun at noon day. That is quite impressive but just seeing something like that, no matter how magnificent, can’t change everything. Just seeing something outwardly, no matter how incredible, doesn’t have the ability to change us. The answer to what changed Paul that day can be seen in this little phrase at the beginning of this devotion. Paul said that God was pleased to separate him from before the time he was born by God’s grace. What is grace? Many think it is the overlooking of our sinful lives by God. That definition doesn’t even come close. Grace is the influence of God on our hearts that actually changes the things we love. We used to love sin and now we find Jesus as incredibly attractive. That love and attraction to the Lord is what separated Paul and called him into his new life. He was called to follow Jesus through the influence of grace. Here is how Augustine described grace; this is one of my all time favorite quotes.

“During all those years [of rebellion], where was my free will? What was the hidden, secret place from which it was summoned in a moment, so that I might bend my neck to your easy yoke? . . . How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose! . . . You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure , though not to flesh and blood, you who outshine all light, yet are hidden deeper than any secret in our hearts, you who surpass all honor, though not in the eyes of men who see all honor in themselves. . . .O Lord my God, my Light, my Wealth, and my Salvation.”

So what is it that keeps you from really selling out to the Lord? That is the thing that will no longer have its attraction to you and hold on you once you drink deeply from this cup of grace. Once you were a slave to the pleasure of that particular sin, that is until grace came. The pleasure found in the knowledge of the Lord replaces the foolish pleasures of sin.

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I AM WHAT I AM

1 Cor. 15:10 – But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

Paul was the prototype in the New Testament of a person effected by the grace of God. To understand Paul you have to have an understanding of grace. What is grace? The most common answer you will get when you pose that question is this, “unmerited favor”. That is not really an accurate answer. “Unmerited favor” seems to imply that grace is getting good things from the Lord that our behavior doesn’t warrant. That is not grace. Bible grace is so much more than that. Grace is the influence of God on our souls that makes spiritual things attractive to us. In other words, grace transcends the things and blessings of this world and brings us into a place where “only God” will do for us. We begin to follow the Lord with all of our might because we delight in Him and in doing His work. Here is how Albert Barnes describes this verse.

“But by the grace of God I am what I am – By the “favor” or mercy of God. What I have is to be traced to him, and not to any native tendency to goodness, or any native inclination to his service, or to any merit of my own. All my hopes of heaven; all my zeal; all my success; all my piety; all my apostolic endowments, are to be traced to him. Nothing is more common in the writings of Paul, than a disposition to trace all that he had to the mere mercy and grace of God. And nothing is a more certain indication of true piety than such a disposition… He had been enabled by the grace of God, to labor more than all the rest, and he had thus shown that he had not been insensible of his obligations.”

So not only does grace cleanse me of my sin, it also frees me from the power of sin. It works in the most unexpected way, it works through our enjoyment or pleasures. We used to love sin and now we love Him and His kingdom. That’s what happened to Paul at his conversion. Grace arrested him, grace forgave him, and grace consumed him with a new passion. From the day of his conversion onward, Paul was consumed and transformed by grace. That’s why he said, “by the grace of God I am what I am”.

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“Infusing Grace”

by Parris Bailey

MERRY WEDNESDAY!

I believe we will spend the rest of our lives and the angels too, contemplating the wonders of salvation. How a person could be going one way and then change into another man by Christ’s efficacious grace is just supernatural. When we read the conversion of Paul on the Damascus Road we realize just how suddenly salvation can come. His conversion wasn’t gradual but immediate. One can say repentance is a sovereign gift of God in ones life. Jonathan Edwards quotes; “They are in themselves filthy, vile creatures and see themselves to be so. They have an excellence and a glory in them because they have Christ dwelling in them…. Tis some thing of God. This holy heavenly spark is put into the soul in conversion, and God maintains it there. All the power of hell cannot put it out…. Though it be small … ’tis a powerful thing. It has influence on the heart to govern that, and brings forth holy fruits in the life, and won’t cease to prevail ’til it has consumed all the corruption that is left in the heart and ’til it has turned the whole soul, as it were, into a pure, holy and heavenly flame. The principle, once born, grows: In conversion this spiritual principle begins again to be restored, though it be but in an imperfect degree . . . gets more and more powerful”.

When infused grace comes into our lives everything changes. Our understanding becomes enlightened whereas before we walked in darkness having no conviction or understanding of the reality of spiritual things. There was no ability to be free from the bondage of sin or have freedom from guilt. Jonathan Edwards when writing on grace said, ‘In efficacious grace we are not merely passive, nor yet does God do some, and we do the rest. But God does all and we do all. God produces all, and we act all. For that is what he produces: our own acts. God is the only proper author and fountain; we only are the proper actors. We are, in this respect, wholly passive and wholly active.’ Edward believed that Nature cannot change nature; only super-nature can.

Piper when talking about grace he uses the term irresistible grace in which he defines ‘More specifically irresistible grace refers to the sovereign work of God to overcome the rebellion of our heart and bring us to faith in Christ so that we can be saved.’ It does one well to remember just how rebellious we were and hellbent on sin. Piper is not saying that God forces us to believe against our will, but we have a way of being persuaded. This is the beautiful work of redemption upon a fallen man of which the world wonders. Once we were blinded but now we see. Grace becomes infused within our hearts and regeneration occurs.

“Life is in the quickening Spirit.” WA Criswell RC Sproul says, “To be “born again” is to experience a second genesis. It is a new beginning, a fresh start in life. When something is started, we say that it is generated. If it is started again, it is regenerated. The Greek verb geniauo that is translated as “generate” means “to be,” “to become,” or “to happen.” Regeneration by the Holy Spirit is a change. It is a radical change into a new kind of being.

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ZECHARIAH’S TEMPLE – OVERCOMING ADVERSITY

Zech.4:7 – “Who are you, O great mountain?

Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!

And he shall bring forth the capstone

With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”

Adversity is part of life, all of us have our portion. The important thing is, how do you deal with adversity? Today’s verse has been a great encouragement to me in adversity throughout my life. In it I have found two powerful truths that have strengthened me time and time again. The first is in the last part of the verse, His enabling grace is more than sufficient in all that I face. Grace was the word the Lord gave to Paul when he seemed to have had enough of the barrage that keep coming against him. “My grace is sufficient”, the Lord said. The grace of God satisfies us, sustains us, and in this grace we find favor that is bigger than anything that comes against us. Here is how Dick Mills describes this grace found in today’s word.

“Grace – Favor, grace, graciousness, kindness, beauty, pleasantness, charm, attractiveness, loveliness, affectionate regard. The root chanan means “to act graciously or mercifully toward someone; to be compassionate, to be favorably inclined.” God’s grace poured out upon Jerusalem enables them to look longingly and beseechingly toward their pierced King. God’s grace will result in Israel’s seeing Jesus as someone of infinite beauty. His goodness enables them to repent. The Holy Spirit is called “the Spirit of grace” in Heb. 10:29, a title no doubt inspired by this reference in Zech.”

His grace is sufficient for me. The second lesson I see in this verse is to always look to the Sovereignty of our Lord. He gives Zerubbabel a powerful promise here. He says He will bring forth the capstone, the finishing stone of the temple. The Lord is telling Zerubbabel that He will complete what He has started. Here is how Adam Clarke sees it.

“The hinderances which were thrown in the way; the regal prohibition to discontinue the building of the temple. The sovereign power of God shall remove them. March on, Zerubbabel; all shall be made plain and smooth before thee. I have given thee the work to do, and I will remove all hinderances out of thy way. He shall bring forth the headstone. As he has laid the foundation stone, so shall he put on the headstone: as he has begun the building, so shall he finish it! With shoutings The universal acclamation of the people. Grace, grace unto it. How beautiful is this structure! May the favor of God ever rest upon it, and be manifested in it!”

I love this, the Lord will finish the work. What He started in me is certain to come to a glorious conclusion.