God's Grace And Our Faith (part 1)
Ephesians 2:8, 9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
My goal is to present an in depth study on both God's grace and our faith as well as how the two work together in our salvation. Many people do not truly understand either one, nor how they work together, so it will be very beneficial for all of us to better understand how a Christian is saved by grace, through faith. This will be a three part lesson due to the amount of information I have accumulated.
First, I will present a detailed look at what the New Testament reveals about God's saving grace. The second part will be an in depth look at faith as well. Then in the third part, we will study how the two work together in our salvation. Now let us begin with a look at grace.
What is God's grace after all? The very best definition of the word that I have seen is "unmerited favor". It is God's undeserved or unmerited favor. But is that all it is? I did a search on the word grace in my Bible program and it revealed some aspects of God's grace that I am not sure many have realized before. God's grace has certain characteristics. Grace can fill a person (Acts 6:8), it can be seen (Acts 11.23), received, (Rom.1:5), and continued in (Acts 13.43).
We are justified by God's grace (Rom.3:24). We obtain access into grace by faith (Rom.5:2). Grace can reign as well (Rom.5:21). We know it is given (Rom.12:3) but it can also influence how we behave (II Cor.1:12) as well as increase our thanksgiving (II Cor.4:15). It can also be known (II Cor.8:9).
Most importantly, it is possible to fall from grace (Gal.5:4) and we are saved by grace as we already know (Eph.2:8, 9). Grace can also strengthen us (I Tim.2:1). We can find grace to help in our time of need (Heb.4 :16). The Spirit of grace can be spurned or outraged (Heb.10:29). It is also possible for a person to fail to obtain grace (Heb.12:15).
Peter pleas for Christians to stand firm in God's grace (I Pet.5:12). It's logical to conclude that if we are told to stand firm in God's grace, it is possible to do the opposite as well. Peter also affirms that both grace and peace are increased through the knowledge of both God and Jesus ( I Pet.1:2) and we are to be good stewards of the grace of God as well (I Pet.4:10). Peter also tells us to grow in both grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (II Pet.3:18). Grace can also be perverted into something it is not (Jude 1:4).
I encourage you to study each verse that was presented and the surrounding verses as well to gain an understanding of the context in which the verse were written. I also hope that you have learned some things already about God's grace that you might not have known before. Hold on to what you learn and carry it with you into the next two parts of my lesson series as well. God bless our study together.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
My goal is to present an in depth study on both God's grace and our faith as well as how the two work together in our salvation. Many people do not truly understand either one, nor how they work together, so it will be very beneficial for all of us to better understand how a Christian is saved by grace, through faith. This will be a three part lesson due to the amount of information I have accumulated.
First, I will present a detailed look at what the New Testament reveals about God's saving grace. The second part will be an in depth look at faith as well. Then in the third part, we will study how the two work together in our salvation. Now let us begin with a look at grace.
What is God's grace after all? The very best definition of the word that I have seen is "unmerited favor". It is God's undeserved or unmerited favor. But is that all it is? I did a search on the word grace in my Bible program and it revealed some aspects of God's grace that I am not sure many have realized before. God's grace has certain characteristics. Grace can fill a person (Acts 6:8), it can be seen (Acts 11.23), received, (Rom.1:5), and continued in (Acts 13.43).
We are justified by God's grace (Rom.3:24). We obtain access into grace by faith (Rom.5:2). Grace can reign as well (Rom.5:21). We know it is given (Rom.12:3) but it can also influence how we behave (II Cor.1:12) as well as increase our thanksgiving (II Cor.4:15). It can also be known (II Cor.8:9).
Most importantly, it is possible to fall from grace (Gal.5:4) and we are saved by grace as we already know (Eph.2:8, 9). Grace can also strengthen us (I Tim.2:1). We can find grace to help in our time of need (Heb.4 :16). The Spirit of grace can be spurned or outraged (Heb.10:29). It is also possible for a person to fail to obtain grace (Heb.12:15).
Peter pleas for Christians to stand firm in God's grace (I Pet.5:12). It's logical to conclude that if we are told to stand firm in God's grace, it is possible to do the opposite as well. Peter also affirms that both grace and peace are increased through the knowledge of both God and Jesus ( I Pet.1:2) and we are to be good stewards of the grace of God as well (I Pet.4:10). Peter also tells us to grow in both grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (II Pet.3:18). Grace can also be perverted into something it is not (Jude 1:4).
I encourage you to study each verse that was presented and the surrounding verses as well to gain an understanding of the context in which the verse were written. I also hope that you have learned some things already about God's grace that you might not have known before. Hold on to what you learn and carry it with you into the next two parts of my lesson series as well. God bless our study together.
Labels: Bible Lesson, Christianity, Faith, Grace
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