Understanding Grace

Grace - A Misunderstood Message - Part Two

Grace - "the Divine influence upon the heart of a person and the acting out in ones life because of His merciful kindness toward us"

Much like the word "love", we can use this word for a variety of meanings. The nice thing about the Greek language is that there are multiple words characterizing the different uses for the word "love". Example:

Eros - erotic love
Stergein - a natural affection as in members of a family
Philos - More of a liking, affection or fondness - brotherly love. The city Philadelphia is known as the city of "brotherly love".
Agapao or Agape - The highest form of love - unconditional love - the kind of love that is always contending for the highest possible good in every situation and relentlessly contending until it becomes a present tense reality.

We use the word "love" very loosely in this country. " I love football, I love pizza, I love my wife and children, I LOVE THE BUCKEYES! It's no wonder we are birthing a generation that will be challenged to define love.

Just like "love" has several meanings so too does the word "grace" - this word can mean, favor, mercy, gift, as well as the definition I have given from Strong's Greek Concordance, above.. So, when it comes to the word grace, we need to have an understanding of which definition we are referring to.  Think for a moment if I told my wife I loved her and used the word Philos (brotherly love).  What kind of response would this generate in her heart?

Let's apply this now to Romans 3:24 - "Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus". So, now, when it comes to the word "grace", we could use the word "favor" and we could use the word "gift" in the translation of this verse and be correct.  I too could use the word "affection" or "fondness" when telling my wife that I love her, but if she understood that my love toward her was "agape" love, not only would this encompass the fact that I have an affection or fondness toward her but when she understands my love is "agape" our love would be much more deeper and organic (always changing; striving for the highest good as new and challenging situations arise in our lives).

So we could say that our justification through Christ Jesus is a grace (gift) from God....something He freely gave to us and given out of grace (mercy), but to me, that tends to center around more of an event. In other words, our justification is a GIFT from God, a MERCIFUL act toward us. However, when I come to the realization that my justification comes by way of His Divine Influence in my heart, this takes on a whole new perspective of how God does a work in us; how we can be born of God.

The long and short of that is this - when it comes to areas in my life where I am not walking in His best for me, whether I am missing the mark in my attitude, actions, be it through behaviors or heart attitudes, I can ask (pray) for His Divine Influence to work in my heart.  Then, instead of me using self effort to experience the fruit He desires enriching my life with, I find Him changing my heart by influencing me with His Agape love.  This results in lasting fruit.  The fruit that comes by self-effort only lasts as long as the effort is being put forth. Contrary to that, when God does a work in our heart, the fruit it produces is more real and lasting because it is fruit produced after its own kind - God fruit, if you will.

Another way of explaining it is this: As we raise our children what would produce more fruit in their life; them knowing how we feel about what is right or wrong and then having them do what we tell them or they themselves having right thinking? There is a big difference. One is them trying to act like us and the other is us being born in them.  I believe we have all seen people, whether children of others or fellow believers in church who know how to "act" right. in front of us or the pastor but their actions and attitudes in their home or workplace reveal a different kind of being. This usually means that what they are trying to appear like is born from self-effort.   However, when their heart is right, the fruit that comes forth will produce right behavior. More on this to come.

As you go about your day, take that one area of your life that you would like to see changed and begin to ask God to influence you.  Don't try to change yourself.....let Him work the change in you or your situation and watch the fruit that comes forth.

Agape,
Jim