TibiasDad
Well-known member
Eph 2:8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.
In preparation for a series on Grace, I found myself thinking deeper about the definition of Grace. Not that I thought the definition unclear, but the Lord was prompting me that there is a dynamic of Grace that, perhaps, was not fully realized in both a theological and pragmatic way in both my own faith or by the masses in general.
I suddenly realized that there are two perspectives in defining Grace, our human perspective, and God’s divine perspective.
The typical definition of Grace is “unmerited/undeserved favor”, which is our human view; we do not deserve God’s favor toward us! This is what we must acknowledge about ourselves in relation to God’s gifts to us.
But something that I had not concretely thought much about, was how God views Grace. That is until I sensed the Spirit prompting me to reevaluate my thinking more fully. It was then that I began to think about how God might define Grace, and I found the Spirit saying that the Godhead might say that it’s not only that we are undeserving, but also, and more importantly, that God didn’t have to be gracious at all. In other words, nothing we could ever do as humans can obligate God to act kindly to us. I have often quoted the former president of my alma mater, Ohio Christian University, Dr. Doug Carter, who once said, “Grace is grace because the one being gracious didn’t have to be!” But it never really registered as being God’s perspective.
Now I have long held that we are incapable of obligating God, but I had never consciously associated it with the definition of Grace, and doing so has dramatically changed my life perspective.
It has expanded my epignosko, my experiential knowledge of God personally, and my appreciation and enjoyment of all that he has blessed me with in this life.
Paul’s words in Eph 2:8-9 really struck me in a more profound way by applying not only the fact that I am completely undeserving of God’s blessing, both spiritual and practical, but that even if I were in some manner worthy, that God is not obligated to me in any manner because of my actions or apparent worth.
This is why salvation is by grace, through faith, and why it is not of ourselves, that is, not by works, but rather a gift of God! Our works are incapable of obligating God to act favorably in any way. I can’t ever back God into a proverbial corner and make him say, “Well, I guess you got me now!” God never has to do anything simply because I want him to do it!
It is by Grace, because it is only because God chooses to save out of his own desire to do so! Works and merit are meaningless if God doesn’t want to save us! That is the meaning of “I will have mercy on whom I want to have mercy”, and “nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” It has always been God decision, always his desire that precipitates salvation and never the desire or will of man that necessitates God to save us.
It is “the great and precious promises” of God that obligate God, not our asking him to save us. It is his promise alone that “whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life” that obligates him to do what he does.
Doug
In preparation for a series on Grace, I found myself thinking deeper about the definition of Grace. Not that I thought the definition unclear, but the Lord was prompting me that there is a dynamic of Grace that, perhaps, was not fully realized in both a theological and pragmatic way in both my own faith or by the masses in general.
I suddenly realized that there are two perspectives in defining Grace, our human perspective, and God’s divine perspective.
The typical definition of Grace is “unmerited/undeserved favor”, which is our human view; we do not deserve God’s favor toward us! This is what we must acknowledge about ourselves in relation to God’s gifts to us.
But something that I had not concretely thought much about, was how God views Grace. That is until I sensed the Spirit prompting me to reevaluate my thinking more fully. It was then that I began to think about how God might define Grace, and I found the Spirit saying that the Godhead might say that it’s not only that we are undeserving, but also, and more importantly, that God didn’t have to be gracious at all. In other words, nothing we could ever do as humans can obligate God to act kindly to us. I have often quoted the former president of my alma mater, Ohio Christian University, Dr. Doug Carter, who once said, “Grace is grace because the one being gracious didn’t have to be!” But it never really registered as being God’s perspective.
Now I have long held that we are incapable of obligating God, but I had never consciously associated it with the definition of Grace, and doing so has dramatically changed my life perspective.
It has expanded my epignosko, my experiential knowledge of God personally, and my appreciation and enjoyment of all that he has blessed me with in this life.
Paul’s words in Eph 2:8-9 really struck me in a more profound way by applying not only the fact that I am completely undeserving of God’s blessing, both spiritual and practical, but that even if I were in some manner worthy, that God is not obligated to me in any manner because of my actions or apparent worth.
This is why salvation is by grace, through faith, and why it is not of ourselves, that is, not by works, but rather a gift of God! Our works are incapable of obligating God to act favorably in any way. I can’t ever back God into a proverbial corner and make him say, “Well, I guess you got me now!” God never has to do anything simply because I want him to do it!
It is by Grace, because it is only because God chooses to save out of his own desire to do so! Works and merit are meaningless if God doesn’t want to save us! That is the meaning of “I will have mercy on whom I want to have mercy”, and “nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” It has always been God decision, always his desire that precipitates salvation and never the desire or will of man that necessitates God to save us.
It is “the great and precious promises” of God that obligate God, not our asking him to save us. It is his promise alone that “whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life” that obligates him to do what he does.
Doug
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