1 Corinthians 1:3 (TPT) May joyous grace(c) and endless peace be yours continually
from our Father God and from our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One!
c 1:3 The Greek word charis, in its original sense, is descriptive of that which brings pleasure and joy to the human heart, implying a strong emotional element. God’s grace includes favor and supernatural potency, and it is meant to leave us both charming and beautiful. In classical Greek it was meant to convey the attitude of favor shown by royalty. See Torrance, The Doctrine of Grace in the Apostolic Fathers, pp. 1-5.
2 Peter 3:18 (TPT) But continue to grow and increase in God’s grace and intimacy with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (b) May He receive all the glory both now and until the day eternity begins. Amen!
b 3:18 The Aramaic does not use the imperative but makes it more of a decree: “You continue to be nourished in grace and in the intimate knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Messiah, and of God the Father.” Spiritual growth is yielding to the grace of God and having passion to know Jesus Christ intimately. In time, we grow into His beautiful image.
What great wisdom it is to understand that our Creator desires to supply us with everything we need to function such that we love Him and we love others with His selfless love thus fulfilling all the Law and the Prophets. What a great thing to understand that His will is a walk of union with God’s heart and mind and God is love. To reach higher levels of obeying “Not my will, but Thine, be done” is to reach deeper levels of knowing the Lord’s love. (Luke 22:42 KJV) Love equates to obedience, and obedience yields intimacy with the Lord. He becomes more real; His presence weightier. Jesus said in John 14:21, “The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.]” (AMPC) And to be close to Him like John was is the ultimate fulfillment.
Enter grace as how we do all this. In giving us the Person of Christ to come to live in our spirits, God has given us grace or power. He knows we need Him for everything, but often He has to teach us through diagnostic tests and trials just how much we need Him. The great lesson is to pursue humility and dependence so you will hit the mark by letting Christ live out His very life through
you.
Abiding
Jeff VanVondereen writes in his book, Tired of Trying to Measure Up:
“In 1 John 3:6 it says: ‘No one who abides in Him sins.’ Wrongly interpreted, this verse sounds enormously indicting. Some people try not to sin simply by trying not to sin. Some people try not to sin by abiding in the Law (performance-based religion or trying to earn righteousness). Some attend Christian formula seminars seeking a way to avoid sin. Literally the verse says,
‘No one who is presently abiding in Jesus is presently sinning.’
It is impossible for us to both depend on Christ and yet, at the same time, miss the mark (sin) by depending on something other than Him. Abide in Him [remain connected or vitally united to Him, ever drawing from Him as the Vine that flows through you or supplies you, the branch.], put your trust in Him, and He will keep you moment by moment from the practice of sin.”[1]
Paul on Grace
Paul, the believer who taught all about the power that God longs to increasingly bestow, wrote of coming to Him as a privilege: “Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].” (Hebrews 4:16 AMP) God wants us to run to Him and not from Him. He has perfect insight and will give us freely of Himself. God proved what He is like in sending Jesus to die for us, and continues to prove His nature in supplying us with grace. Ephesians 4:4-6 (TPT) reveals, “But God still loved us with such great love. He is so rich in compassion and mercy. Even when we were dead and doomed in our many sins, he united us into the very life of Christ and saved us by His wonderful grace! He raised us up with Christ the exalted One, and we ascended with Him into the glorious perfection and authority of the heavenly realm, and we are now co-seated as one with Christ.”
God’s Ways
We must not allow any offense toward God to lodge in our hearts because of His breakings and dealings. He is bringing us into a glorious oneness with Himself, but He has to bring us to the end of ourselves such that we yield to Him as our Source. James wrote, “But He continues to pour out more and more grace upon us. For it says, ‘God resists you when you are proud but continually pours out grace when you are humble.” (James 4:6 TPT)
Paul was humbled at the outset at his Damascus road confrontation with Jesus whom he had been persecuting in his rampage against the church. Thereafter, he leaned upon the Lord and became the teacher of superabundant grace. Paul said of himself, “But God’s amazing grace made me who I am! And his grace to me was not fruitless. In fact, I worked harder than all the rest, yet not in my own strength but God’s, for His empowering grace is poured out upon me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10 TPT) He added in Ephesians 3:7, “Grace alone empowers me,” and he described grace as “the unfading, inexhaustible riches of Christ, which are beyond comprehension.” (Ephesians 3:7 TPT) Functioning by grace is a miracle. And grace will increase forever: “Throughout the coming ages we will be the visible display of the infinite riches of His grace and kindness, which was showered upon us in Jesus Christ.” (Eph. 2:7 TPT)
Loving with Agape
The call to love with agape love is high and will take grace. John penned, “This is how we have discovered love’s reality: Jesus sacrificed his life for us. Because of this great love, we should be willing to lay down our lives for one another.” (1 John 3:16 TPT) The footnote by Brian Simmons reads, “Or that he [Jesus] placed his soul over us and we are constantly indebted to place our souls over our brothers and sisters,” referencing the yielding of our souls to the Indwelling Christ or the Person who is grace—the One we are to lean on.[2] In the next chapter, John explained how we are to attain to true Christian love. “The one who doesn’t love has yet to know God, for God is love. The light of God’s love shined within us when He sent His matchless Son into the world so that we might live through Him.” (1 John 4:8-9 TPT).
Grace, let’s not resist it or reject it in our pride. Maturity in the Lord means fully drawing upon it. And fully operating in it results in the prize of experiencing Christ in fullness—”the prize of the upward call” that Paul pursued with all that was in him. (Phil. 3:14 AMP) Even Solomon wrote prophetically about grace: “You will be adorned with beauty and grace, and wisdom’s glory will wrap itself around you, making you victorious in the race.” (Proverbs 4:9 TPT)
Postscript
A summary of grace is found in both understandings of 1 John 4:19 in the New Living Translation.
We love each other[a] because he loved us first.
Footnotes
- 4:19 Greek We love. Other manuscripts read We love God; still others read We love him.
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[1] Jeff VanVondereen, Tired of Trying to Measure Up, p. 144.
[2] Brian Simmons and the translation team, The Passion Translation New Testament with Psalms, Proverbs, and Song of Songs (BroadStreetPublishing.com, 2020), 689.
love lessons 