{"id":699,"date":"2018-04-29T08:00:23","date_gmt":"2018-04-29T13:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/?p=699"},"modified":"2018-04-28T17:41:44","modified_gmt":"2018-04-28T22:41:44","slug":"what-does-the-bible-say-about-the-exceptional-work-of-gods-grace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/2018\/what-does-the-bible-say-about-the-exceptional-work-of-gods-grace\/","title":{"rendered":"What does the Bible say about the exceptional work of God\u2019s grace?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u201cFor we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works\u2026at the time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.\u201d Ephesians\u00a02:10\u201313<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

God\u2019s grace is usually considered from the standpoint of its present manifestation in our day-to-day life. We acknowledge the theological truth that God\u2019s grace was active in behalf of each believer from before time began (2\u00a0Timothy\u00a01:9). We also know that it is God\u2019s grace that will carry us through to eternity (2\u00a0Timothy 1:12). But our primary focus is on the here and now.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s grace is essentially the fact that He bears Himself toward His chosen ones with favor. Therefore, all that transpires in each believer\u2019s life flows from the fountain of the grace of God, as Romans\u00a08 clearly illustrates. We all take much-needed practical perspective and comfort from the present expectation of God\u2019s grace.<\/p>\n

The first two chapters of Ephesians teach precious theological truths about God\u2019s grace. Chapter\u00a01 details God\u2019s gracious blessings poured out on each believer that would be otherwise unknown to us. Chapter\u00a02 begins by explaining that God\u2019s grace overcomes the spiritual death and obstinacy that afflicts everyone before He saves. His gracious salvation rescues believers from the worst possible loss unto the greatest possible blessing (verses\u00a01\u20137).<\/p>\n

Then, in chapter\u00a02:8\u201310, Paul explains that God\u2019s grace effectively rescues His own. Each believer is saved by grace through faith; the whole process of salvation is not out of ourselves, it is the gift of God! Grace truly is God\u2019s bearing of Himself with favor toward those who once were unworthy, but are made worthy through His effectual grace!<\/p>\n

No more perfect word could have been chosen than the word workmanship, to describe God\u2019s exertion of His grace on us. The Greek word is poema<\/em>, the word from which we get our word poem. His workmanship is divine Craftsmanship expertly applied with power, wisdom, forethought, personal sacrifice, and investment. The Greek word order declares, \u201cHis workmanship are we.\u201d<\/p>\n

The passage that follows helps us see that His grace does so much more than rescue and implant faith. He elevates those who believe to a new position, not just elevating Gentiles to the level of His chosen people, but He elevates believing Jew and Gentile to an even higher position. Verse\u00a011 begins the explanation by recounting the difference between Jew and Gentile. Just as we were subject to Satan\u2019s domain, we also were outside the Old Testament covenant of the Law, the outward sign of which was circumcision.<\/p>\n

Paul uses six phrases to show how far out of reach it was for Gentiles to be among the chosen. We were without Christ (literally, a Christ). There was no hope of a Messiah, the Anointed One, for the Gentiles. The Messiah was to come only through the Jewish nation.<\/p>\n

We were aliens, strangers with no rights of citizenship. Being Jewish and among the chosen was very exclusive. There were borders and boundaries which were impossible to step across. We were born from a different lineage. There were no constitutional rights to our benefit.<\/p>\n

We were strangers from the covenants of promise. We had no claim on all the glorious Old Testament promises to the descendants of Abraham of land, seed, and blessing. There was no right to the promised land and to the blessings from God for obedience. There was no expectation of the coming Messiah and kingdom which would benefit Israel, first and foremost.<\/p>\n

We were without hope of any kind. Mankind can endure much, but men do not do well when all hope is extinguished. Hope of kindness from Heaven appeared more of a desperation in pagan religion. They had no inkling of what God\u2019s people knew of a God who bears Himself toward His own with favor!<\/p>\n

We were without God. The Greek word is atheioi<\/em>, the word we get atheist from. The meaning is quite plain, we were God-forsaken.<\/p>\n

We were in the world. You get the haunting sensation from Paul\u2019s words that we were adrift, friendless, surrounded, and darkness abounded since we were dead in trespasses and sins (2:1\u20133). We were \u201cfar off,\u201d as the text says. Verse\u00a014 also adds that there is a wall of partition, a middle wall of separation between God\u2019s chosen nation and all the rest of mankind.<\/p>\n

Within Jerusalem\u2019s temple complex there was the Court of the Gentiles with a wall that kept Gentiles from coming any nearer to the inner court. There was a sign affixed to the gate of the inner wall which read, \u201cNo foreigner may enter within the barricade which surrounds the sanctuary enclosure. Anyone who is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death\u2026.\u201d An illustration of the reality of the threat is found in Acts\u00a021:29.<\/p>\n

The point Paul makes is that the grace of God is not just grace to get through today. The masterpiece of God\u2019s grace is so much more! Through faith in Christ we have been brought near in the blood of Christ. We are in spiritual union with God. This is the great work of grace, from eternity past to eternity future, intimacy with the Almighty. That is workmanship indeed! Trust and obey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cFor we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works\u2026at the time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}