And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him (Lk. 2:40).
Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people (Acts 6:8).
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:3).
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms (1 Pet. 4:10).
Isn’t grace about the forgiveness of sin? How is it that Luke can speak of grace being upon the baby Jesus or Stephen being full of the grace of God? How is it that Paul would use this word as an introduction to his letters? How is it that Peter would speak of Christians being administrators of God’s grace?
All of the passages of scripture above make absolutely no sense as long as we only think of grace as the act of God to forgive sin. The above scriptures, and many others, indicate to us that grace is much more than God letting us off the hook for the sin in our lives. Grace is quite simply God’s work in his creation. When the Spirit is at work in Stephen or one member of the church is able to encourage another, God’s grace is at work.
This is because every part of life is filled with the grace of God. We do not live and breathe but for the grace of God. We do not eat but for the grace of God. We have no joy but for the grace of God. This is what the apostle Paul attempted to communicate to the people of Lystra when they had mistaken he and Barnabas for a couple of Greek gods and tried to make sacrifices to them.
“Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” (Acts 14:15-18).
Rain from heaven and hearts filled with joy are manifestations of the grace of God. This is because the Greek word CHARIS (grace) means nothing more than “Gift” (and, in fact, is often translated that way in the New Testament). What Paul was saying is that the rain from heaven and the joy in our hearts are gifts from God. We would not have them but for God.
The proper response to this gift is to honor the one who has given it. This, of course, includes worship, but it also includes a life of transformation (which one might argue is also worship). We saw this clearly in David. It is what we don’t see in the story Jesus tells of a man who had been forgiven a debt of gargantuan proportion, but would not forgive a miniscule debt owed to him (Matt. 18:23-28). Such a person fails to see that every breath he takes is a gift. He assumes that he has a right to it.
But when we do realize it is a gift, it begins to overflow. Grace begins to be extended to those around us. We become people who grow in this grace (2 Pet. 3:18). We become people who begin living in the will of the one who has graced us with joy and family and friends and health. Grace becomes a part of who we are in everything that we do and say. Grace becomes an everyday matter.
