2 Corinthians 13:14 (KJV)
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”
Right from when I was a child of about 5, 6 or 7 years old, I had heard of and spoken the word ‘grace’ many times because it was one of the prayers I had been taught to pray. In school, we would pray it in school gatherings, at home, we would pray it before bed. So it became the norm to hear the words, “let’s say grace”, which meant, let’s pray. The above scripture from 2 Corinthians 13:14 is a prayer I have prayed over a million times and still do today. I never knew it was actual scripture until I got born again and was studying the scriptures and came across it, and to say I wasn’t surprised, would be an understatement. It dawned on me that I actually knew a bible verse by heart and could recite it word for word and had known it almost all my life. I’m sure just like me, many of you didn’t or still haven’t realized to date that 2 Corinthians 13:14 is the prayer you have probably prayed all your life and didn’t even know it was an actual verse in the bible. Just for emphasis’ sake, SCRIPTURE IS PRAYER, and that’s why we are encouraged to know the word of God by heart in order to speak it over ourselves and over the situations and circumstances that may be a hindrance or challenge in our lives (John 6:63).
‘Grace’ in the bible is synonymous (having similar meaning to) with the goodness of God. It is often translated as favor. The word ‘grace’ appears about 170 times in the bible, about 20 times in the old testament and about 150 times in the new testament (please note, these figures are estimates). The first time we come across the word ‘grace’ is in Genesis 6:8. In the old testament, the word ‘grace’ was used to refer to God’s favor, mercy or kindness while in the new testament it still refers to God’s favor and mercy but with extra emphasis on the fact that it is ‘unmerited favor’. No one who has ever lived or will ever live is deserving of God’s grace which is His goodness, on any merit of their own. All merit goes back to Jesus, because we receive God’s goodness which is His unmerited favor due to the fact that Jesus took on all sin once for all time (Hebrews 10:12-14). Jesus’s sacrifice restored right relationship between man and God just as it was at the beginning in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve before sin was introduced.
Romans 3:25 (NKJV)
“whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed”.
The wrath of God was satisfied on Jesus once for all time (Romans 5:9). The sacrifice that Jesus made was complete in and of itself such that, if you receive His gift of salvation (born again) you become dead to sin and alive to God and are no longer a slave to sin (Romans 6). Today, sin is no longer an issue with regard to relationship with God because sin which produced God’s wrath, was satisfied once for all time on Jesus through the cross (Hebrews 10:12-14). Meaning, sin no longer separates us from the love of God because it is not ‘your’ goodness that gives you merit to stand or go before God. It is ONLY belief in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ at the cross that gives any person merit to access the goodness of God (unmerited favor) (Romans 10:9). It is simply a gift from God.
The grace of God is what opens us up to receive all the benefits of salvation, but you have to believe and have faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross in order to receive the benefits (John 3:3). Some of the benefits of Jesus’s sacrifice (salvation) include: good health which includes mental stability and a sound mind, peace of mind, joy, healing, wealth and riches, hope, good and healthy marriages, wisdom, fruitfulness in child bearing and every other area of life and many many more infinite gifts that He purchased for us at no cost to you and I but at the cost of His life. Jesus gave His life to save the world (John 3:16). No one can earn right standing with God because as Romans 3:23 says, ‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ You and I have access to God because of Jesus- He was the ultimate sacrifice.
The sinless Son of God, came to earth and lowered Himself to become a human being and exchanged His life for ours (all mankind) (John 3:16) so that we could have and live the life that God had intended for us to have from the beginning of time when He created the world. Jesus in effect, gave us His good life (King life) in exchange for our sin filled defeated life (John 1:12-13). Therefore, as a new covenant believer, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what Jesus deserves: It has absolutely nothing to do with how good or holy you are or have been, and has everything to do with Jesus’s goodness and righteousness which is open to anyone who will believe in Him.
We have access to this wonderful grace of God by faith and nothing else (Ephesians 2:8). The grace of God is God’s goodness to man achieved through the sacrifice of Jesus’s life on the cross. You can only receive His grace by confessing the Lord Jesus and believing with your heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9-10). It is not your merit or goodness that produces the favor or goodness of God, it’s all because of the love of God expressed through Jesus on the cross. Jesus is the Only way (John 14:6) that gives any person access to the godlife and all the good and perfect gifts that God has in His kingdom (James 1:17). No one can offer God anything that Jesus hasn’t already done. So it’s pretty simple, you either believe and receive or doubt and do without.
An Illustration:
God’s grace can be illustrated as Jesus’ sacrifice of his own life through His death and resurrection being more like a gift voucher which can only be redeemed in God’s storehouse which is infinite and can only be done through faith and at no cost to you. How wonderful!
Friend, God’s grace is available to anyone who will believe in Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross regardless of where you have been and/or what you have done.
Ephesians 2:8 (NKJV)
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”
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