How wonderful it is to meditate on the grace of God. The Grace of God and the God of all Grace is one of the most astounding revelations in the Bible; it is so unique and marvelous. What a consolation for our weary souls to know that our God is gracious, kind, loving, and compassionate! “Thou art a God of forgiveness, Gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness” (Neh. 9:17). Yes, our “God is the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10). Though we have experienced and enjoyed the grace of God in salvation, and continue to enjoy its manifold blessings in our daily life, in eternity we will learn more of the beauties, greatness and riches of His grace (Eph.2:7). That will be our eternal occupation.

Grace is God’s unmerited, unsought love and favor, freely and lavishly bestowed upon guilty sinners who deserve nothing but the wrath and eternal judgment of God. Grace means God doesn’t have to do anything for us. All we have and all we are comes because He chooses to give it in His sovereign will out of and because of His grace, not because we can demand it or we deserve it. God owes us nothing. Yet in grace He has given us everything. As He is sovereign, He bestows grace on whom He will (Exod.33:19). Grace flows from His throne. The writer to the Hebrews calls the Throne of God as the “Throne of Grace” (Heb.4:16). “In a book filled with lovely and captivating turns of expression, few excel the memorable phrase “throne of grace.” Such a conception of the presence of God  into which beleaguered Christians may come at any time, suggests both the sovereignty of the One they approach (since they come to a “throne”) and His benevolence” (Zane C. Hodges, Hebrews,  Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament Edition, 790). What a wonderful revelation about God!

The Grace of God is fully revealed in and through His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The grace of God has been manifested in the coming of the Lord Jesus - “For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all men” (Titus 2:13). This is a reference to the incarnation, Christ’s first appearing. Jesus Christ is God’s grace incarnate. While the grace of God is described in the Old Testament, it is not defined until the New Testament. The grace of God is epitomized on the cross of Calvary. The gospel is the “gospel of grace” (Acts 20:24) and the Scriptures are the “word of His grace” (Acts 20:32).

The disciples witnessed glimpses of God’s majestic glory in the person of Jesus Christ.  In the attributes of God’s glory they witnessed the goodness of God’s character – grace and truth. Apostle John wrote: “We beheld His glory as of the only begotten from the Father full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).  John further called attention to the superabundance of God’s grace that has been displayed in the incarnation. “For of His fullness we have all received and grace upon grace” (John 1:16). Ryrie explains this as “grace piled upon grace in the experience of the Christian life” (Ryrie Study Bible, NASB, 1600). F.F. Bruce explains the phrase “grace upon grace” as “one wave of grace being constantly replaced by a fresh one. There is no limit to the supply of grace which God has placed at his people’s disposal in Christ….”(The Gospel of John, 43). God’s goodness is only available to us because of grace.

Our salvation is only on the basis of God’s grace and not because of our works (Eph.2:5, 8-9). We are justified freely by His grace (Rom.3:24). We can only be saved by grace and grace alone, and can contribute nothing to our salvation (Rom.4:4-5; 11:6; Acts 15:11). “Where sin abounded, grace did much more” (Rom.5:20). Here and now, by grace we are saved from the penalty of sin and are being saved from the power of sin, and one day at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in rapture, we shall be saved from the presence of sin. All by His grace and grace alone. How great a salvation we enjoy through the grace of God!

The grace of God is unfathomable; it is really amazing. Grace is dispensed not only in salvation but in all aspects of our Christian life. Grace is expressed in a wide variety of forms. Not only that we are saved by grace (saving grace), but we are sustained (strengthened) by grace – sustaining grace (2 Tim 2:1).Grace of God also sanctifies us –sanctifying grace (Acts 13:43; 1Cor.15:10).  By the securing grace of God we are kept secure in our salvation. “…..we have obtained our introduction by faith into the grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God (Rom.5:2). Grace helps us to serve God - serving grace (2 Cor.8:1; Eph.4:7; 1 Peter 4:10). The term “gift” in “spiritual gifts” is a derivative of the word “grace.”  Spiritual gifts are gifts of His grace (grace-gifts) given to us to serve Him. It is again a manifestation of the grace of God in our life. We must also remember that grace is sovereign. We have no claim on God’s grace and we cannot earn or demand it. Grace must be sovereignly bestowed. “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion (Exod.33:19).The manifold grace of God is indescribable.

God gives grace to the humble (James 4:4; 1 Peter 5:5).  He ministers His grace to the “poor in spirit” (Matt.5:3). In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax-collector (Luke 18), Jesus said it was the tax-collector who went home justified, because he was a humble sinner who acknowledged his sin and depended on the grace of God for forgiveness.  The Pharisee was self-righteous and proud. He had no awareness of his own sin and the need for the grace of God.

Grace provides a new liberty in life. But the freedom and liberty through the grace of God is not a license to sin. Or in other words, while sin is an occasion for grace, grace is never to be an occasion for sin. The grace of God prompts us to love and serve God in reverence and awe. Grace teaches us to “deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:12). The grace that brings salvation (Titus 2:11) and educates us to be godly (Titus 2:12), also gives hope for the future. “Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus (Titus 2:13). In these verses we find the outworking of the grace of God in relation to our past, present and future.

Grace is entirely the work of God, unprompted by man, undeserved by man, and without regard to anything that the object of grace will later accomplish. Who can fathom the riches of His grace? Peter says, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Grow in your understanding of the grace of God. The more you understand about the amazing grace of God, the more you enjoy the Christian life.