“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.” (Galatians 6:18, ASV)
When you ask someone to explain the grace of God, I am afraid that their explanations often fall short. The grace of God has been manifested from the beginning of time. It is infinite and all encompassing. In other words, our finite minds could not possibly grasp it in its entirety. Yet what we can grasp encourages and lifts the heart. The more we comprehend it, the more our love for the Lord our God grows.
We see the grace of God in the beginning with creation. Oh, how he blessed Adam and Eve with the most beautiful setting in the Garden. He blessed them with His presence, a beautiful abiding relationship.
Even when Adam and Eve transgressed the command of God and sin entered the world, we see the magnificence of His grace. Instead of destroying the two, He cared for them, covering their nakedness (Gen 3:21), removing them from the Garden So they would not live eternally in their sinful condition (Gen 3:22), and providing the promise of redemption (Gen 3:15).
Moreover, while through fall of Adam and Eve, all humanity inherited a sin nature and also sinned, God provided blessings to all. Let’s face it. All humanity has fallen short of the glory of God and are condemned as transgressors. Yet God extends common grace to all so that they can experience life in the wonder of His creation.
You might say that some people experience many hardships in life and have sad lives. Yet God does extend grace to them delaying eternal judgment which will make the worst day in this life seem like living in a tropical paradise. Moreover, God reveals Himself to all humanity through His creation. In this He is also patient with man, giving all an opportunity to come to repentance.
Yet there is a special manifestation of His grace, provided by the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus’ death on the cross displayed the magnificence of God’s grace. It was the fulfillment of God’s promise of redemption. It is through faith that man could experience this saving grace (Eph 2:8-9).
However, the power of God’s grace in salvation offers more than just an escape from sin so one can get to heaven. He also manifests His grace in every believer to grant them abilities to live the Christian life in victory. His grace is operative in the believer’s spiritual growth and in the believer’s service.
His grace has also broken down the barriers that exist between people. His grace is responsible for joining people into one wonderful body, the body of Christ which is the church. Moreover, it is the grace of God that enables every believer in the body of Christ to be the light of the world (Matt 5:16), a light that is to shine brightly radiating the grace of God in a darkened world.
Strong’s Enhanced Lexicon explains grace like this,
“the merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues.”[1]
Well, I could go on, but I believe you get the point. God’s grace is all encompassing. We should often ponder the magnificence of His grace. When we do, our countenance will be lifted and our love for Him refreshed. We will realize that we did not do anything to be blessed so greatly and that He has made all things possible.
So, there is not better way to sign off on the letter to the Galatians and this devotion than this.
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.” (Galatians 6:18, ASV)
[1] Strong, James. Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon 1995: n. pag. Print.
Renewing the Heart 