GRACE

(I have said before that in times past I have attended services where the pastor would read from Scripture and then preach from the Reader's Digest. With this post, I suppose I could be accused of a similar fault by quoting from Scripture and then preaching from Webster's Dictionary.)

Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Grace is a term that most of us are familiar with. So familiar, in fact, that we may tend to hear and use the word without considering it. So what exactly is this grace that we hear so much about in Churches?

The first thing I would like to note is that if you were to go to an old dictionary, such as Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language, you find that the noun Grace has 20 different meanings listed, each with similarities, and yet subtle differences. The first meaning given is "Favor; good will; kindness.... I believe this gives us a good overarching feel for the meaning of the word grace.

Interestingly, the second meaning listed by Webster is "The free unmerited love and favor of God."
The third meaning; "Favorable influence of God."
The fourth; "The application of Christ's righteousness to the sinner."
The fifth; "A state of reconciliation to God."

In fact, Webster gets all the way down to the tenth meaning before he leaves religion and goes on to the secular. It really makes one appreciate a man such a Noah Webster. It is said that he considered education useless without the Bible, but cautioned against too extensive use of the Bible in the schools as "tending to irreverence." What a long way we have fallen!

The New Testament Greek word which is translated grace is Charis. This word is found more than 150 times in the New Testament. I am not a student of the Greek language, but from what I can ascertain from concordances and lexicons and commentaries, the multiple meanings of the English word grace are simply mirrored images of the multiple meanings of the Greek word.

Now, all of that being said, let's look at some examples of verses which contain the word grace, and see if we can tell which nuance of the word fits best.

James 1:11 "For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways." Here the word grace is used with a non religious meaning, representing the beauty or excellence of the flower.

Philippians 1:7 "Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace." This is the apostle Paul writing. He speaks of his grace, which leads to the conclusion that grace here is being used simply to mean favor, or good will. None of the other meanings make any sense.

2 Timothy 1:9 "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," If the grace mentioned in this verse was given before the world began, then surely it has to be the grace that is the free unmerited love and favor of God. We simply cannot have earned God's favor before we existed. So let's try it this way: Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and free unmerited love and favor, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

Romans 3:24 "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:" Our first meaning, Favor/good will/kindness seems to fit. Being justified freely by his favor through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. The second also fits. Being justified freely by his free unmerited love and favor through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. How about this: Being justified freely by his application of Christ's righteousness through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Here we have the meaning that fits best. When we see the term justified, we need to think "justice." In order for God's justice to be satisfied, someone needed to pay the penalty. At the cross, a great exchange was made. Christ took our sins upon himself, paid our penalty, and we were given credit for his righteousness.

Romans 6:14 "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." Here we come to Webster's fifth meaning: A state of reconciliation to God. Let's try that. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under a state of reconciliation to God.

Ephesians 2:4-10 "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

In this passage, the word grace is used three times. Let's look at the second one first. It says that God will show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. I think we can safely read this as God will show the exceeding riches of his favor in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Both of the other two uses of the word grace in this passage are nearly identical. By grace ye are saved, and For by grace are ye saved through faith. If, as the Bible says, you are saved by grace, then it is of the utmost importance to understand which meaning, which nuance of the word grace is meant. Certainly, it is the application of Christ's righteousness to the sinner which is in view here. By the application of Christ's righteousness are ye saved. In fact it is through my faith in the application of Christ's righteousness to me the sinner; It is through your faith in the application of Christ's righteousness to you the sinner!