Grace meaning in the Bible is God’s undeserved love for the unlovable, His calm for the restless, and His undeserved favor. His grace is His generosity toward the undeserving.
Grace is the hallmark and character of God and is considered a primary doctrine and feature of the Scriptures. We are all sinners, but because God is full of grace, He is willing to forgive us and sent his son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us from our doom despite our failure to live a good life.
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What Is Grace?
We often get confused between “mercy” and “grace.” Although both terms express God’s abounding love and favor toward us, they have clearly different meanings.
According to Webster’s New World College Dictionary, “grace” is the undeserved favor and love of God toward people. When we experience or receive God’s grace, we are given a favor that we are not deserving of. When we experience the mercy of God, we are spared the punishment and consequences that we do deserve.
Getting what you deserve is what “karma,” which is the antithesis of grace, is all about. Grace is giving you what you don’t deserve.
What Is God’s Grace?
Salvation
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
— Ephesians 2:8–9
Faith in God[1] is the key to our salvation and redemption. But it is by God’s grace alone that we are able to access God’s favor and the promise of eternal life. Regardless of our fallen nature and sinful state, we are always given the chance and opportunity to receive this glorious gift at no cost, other than our unwavering faith in God.
Freely Given
But by the free gift of God’s grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free.
— Romans 3:24
God’s grace is free. The word “grace” is derived from the Greek New Testament word charis, which means God’s unmerited favor. This gift overflows in us because of His kindness, which we don’t deserve. There is no cost to such a gift, and it is ours to keep without any obligation for payback. God’s grace also does not cease once we are saved but overflows through us for the rest of our lives.
Sufficiency Of God
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
— 2 Corinthians 12:9
We all experience suffering many times in our lives. This is part of fallen nature and our daily existence. Like the apostle Paul, we often cry out in pain and distress because of the severe difficulties we experience over and over again. But Jesus Christ is our great healer and comforter.
He tells us to withstand any present difficulty and access His grace to make us move forward with focus and strength. Like Paul, we are to delight in our existence despite the presence of pain.
Gifts Of The Holy Spirit
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
— Luke 11:13
God loves us, and because of His abounding love, He grants us the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They enable us to fulfill our mandate as Christians by propagating God’s kingdom here on Earth. Secondly, these gifts enable us to discharge our general and specific purposes as Christians in our personal, family, and social lives.
They also prepare us to carry out our roles and responsibilities in the edification of the church, the body of Christ, in the pursuit of the gospel. Finally, the Holy Spirit’s gifts bestow joy and righteousness on us in our daily Christian lives.
What Is The Importance Of Grace?
Forgiveness Of Sin
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.
— Romans 5:12
God’s grace and forgiveness are always available to those who seek Him and repent of their heinous ways and actions. Christianity and the Catholic doctrine emphasize that without the forgiveness of sin, we are crippled in this life and destined to everlasting doom. Because of God’s grace and mercy, we can always access His forgiveness and live our lives with joy and righteousness.
Equipping For Good Works
God is able to make every grace overflow to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
— 2 Corinthians 9:8
God has created us to worship and serve Him since the beginning of time. We are also tasked by our Creator to serve our fellow human beings by doing good deeds to help them and glorify God in heaven. God then equips us with the tools and gifts for our spiritual growth so that we can help others in need. Our love for others is best expressed when we pray for them and extend to them what we can to meet their existing physical or spiritual needs.
Redemption And Restoration
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
— John 3:16
God’s grace is the primary component of our liberation from our sinful state. Titus 2:11–12 reads: God’s grace has come to save everyone and teach us how to put an end to ungodliness and worldly appetites in order to live self-controlled, morally upright lives in the modern world. Because of God’s goodness, we are transformed from unfaithful and disobedient unbelievers into faithful children of God.
How To Respond To God’s Grace?
Acceptance And Thankfulness
God’s grace is an amazing gift, bringing salvation to those who believe. As with any gift or endowment, we should accept grace and thank God for His benevolence. We should realize that God is our Creator, who made us from nothing, and He continues to bless and nurture us all through our mundane lives. In the New Testament, prayers of thanksgiving are the most effective ways for us to express our gratitude to our Lord Jesus.
Adopt Humility
God always bestows gifts and gives extra attention to the humble. James 4:6 reads: But he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” In our daily walk with God, it is important not only to glorify Him with our actions but also to stay humble at the same time.
Endurance
The grace of God abounds every moment of our waking lives. However, throughout our lives, we experience various types of pain, difficulties, and challenges. In response to God’s grace, we are to persevere through all the storms of everyday life and practice endurance.
Hebrews 12:1–2 reads, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Our primary focus should be set on God as the source of all grace.
Examples Of Grace In The Bible
- God’s Unceasing Forgiveness. I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord, the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, according to all the Lord has done for us—yes, the great goodness to the house of Israel.—Isaiah 63:7
- The Grace Of God And The Humility Of Christ. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!—Philippians 2:8
- God’s Benevolence For Us. But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.—Romans 5:8
- Access To Faith. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.—Romans 5:1-2
- Justification By God. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.—Romans 3:23-24
- Authority Of Grace Of God.—For sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law but under grace.—Romans 6:14
Christian Quotes About Grace
For grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them.
— Saint Augustine of Hippo
Grace, like water, flows to the lowest part.
— Philip Yancey
The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances.
— Aristotle
Grace is free sovereign favor to the ill-deserving.
— B.B. Warfield
Grace can neither be bought, earned, or won by the creature. If it could be, it would cease to be grace.
— Arthur W. Pink
Grace is love that cares and stoops and rescues.
— John Stott
Courage is grace under pressure.
— Ernest Hemingway
[Grace] is God reaching downward to people who are in rebellion against Him.
— Jerry Bridges
Grace is unconditional love toward a person who does not deserve it.
— Paul Zahl
Grace isn’t a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It’s a way to live. The law tells me how crooked I am. Grace comes along and straightens me out.
— Dwight Lyman Moody
The five means of grace are prayer, searching the Scriptures, the Lord’s Supper, fasting, and Christian [fellowship].
— Elaine A. Heath
In grace, God gives nothing less than Himself. Grace, then, is not a third thing or substance mediating between God and sinners, but is Jesus Christ in redeeming action.
— Michael Horton
Conclusion
We all experience pain, suffering, and trouble. Because of our sinful and fallen nature, we have lost our perfection and immortality and are banished from the glory of Paradise. But God is good. Despite our sins and disobedience, He gives grace to those who seek Him. When we approach God in humility and repentance, He immediately grants us forgiveness and access to His holy and glorious nature.
The Bible teaches that the gospel is all about the abounding grace of God through the atoning work of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is full of grace, and He shares this precious attribute with His children. Through Jesus Christ, “we have all received grace upon grace.” God’s benevolence endures forever.
