More of Why You Should Latch on to God's Grace

Latching on to God’s Grace is the thought today as we continue our focus on the book of Ephesians. We began to look at the subject of grace in a previous podcast, and there is just so much that we can come to know and understand about the magnitude of God’s favor toward us. God’s grace is universal to all men. One Sunday many years ago, a particular gentleman was part of a touring party in Cairo, Egypt. We were strangers in a strange land. We were separated from the nationals by language, dress, culture, and different economic and political systems. Furthermore, we were Christians; they were Muslims. We had heard the people talk with one another all day, but not one word did we understand. That evening in a little Baptist church, we were welcomed, not as American tourists but as fellow Christians. The first song we sang was “Amazing Grace.” They sang in Arabic; we sang in English. Overriding it all was our mutual love for Christ and one another. Truly God in Christ had made of two, one new people.¹ So, you see, grace connects in multiple languages. It connects but are we grasping all that grace is? So, in this podcast, we hope to add to our understanding of this vital subject: More of Why You Should Latch on to God’s Grace — that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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#045: Why is the Throne of God a Merciful Place? [Podcast]

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You can view a ‘no frills’ transcript of this podcast at the bottom of this section.

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Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.

This weeks’ Call to Action’ is:

Thank God today for His great grace in your everyday life. As the songwriter says, ‘Count your blessings — name them one by one./callout]

Join the Conversation

Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week’s question is:

Question of the Day: What have you learned that you can share about the Grace of God in your own life? Please share in the comments section below./callout]

Episode Resources

You can find more information on the book of Ephesians by clicking on the links below.

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 42 years ago. He has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 38 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate it on Stitcher Radio and leave a review. If you have a suggestion for a Bible topic you would like to see taught, or if you have a question, please e-mail me at emery@emeryhorvath.com.

Podcast Notes

By Grace, You Have Been Saved

Ephesians 2:4–9 (ESV) — 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

So, in a previous podcast, we said that in this passage that we just read, Paul mentions God’s grace in connection with the momentous change of your nature three times.
We need to know what grace is.
Grace refers to the condition of being given or shown favor, especially by someone in a position to exercise goodwill by meeting a particular need.²
So, ‘favor’ is a part of understanding what grace is.
Grace is favor in its most basic form.
Favor is something done or granted out of goodwill.
It’s a kind act — it’s excessive kindness or unfair partiality.
How about preferential treatment?
Treating someone with favor is the opposite of treating someone with neglect.
Grace is more than just a sentimental feeling.
If I am showing you grace, it’s an action — if I am showing you favor, I am doing something for you.

Reviewing God’s Grace in the Old Testament

In Genesis 33:11, we see that God’ dealt graciously with Jacob.’
We understood that the phrase ‘Has dealt graciously with me’ was all one word in the Hebrew meaning to implore favor, show, or be shown compassion.
So, favor and compassion are part of what ‘grace’ is Old Testament style.
We then jumped over to Deuteronomy 28:50.

Deuteronomy 28:50 (ESV) — 50 a hard-faced nation who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young.

And we saw that the same three-letter Hebrew word for grace means to show mercy.
So, mercy, as well as favor, as well as compassion, is part of grace.
Then, finally, we jumped over to Psalm 37:21.

Psalm 37:21 – (ESV) — 21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives;

And we saw in this portion of scripture that being generous is included with grace.
If someone shows you grace, they show you generosity.
So far, we have grace, we have favor, compassion, and mercy, and now we’ve added to that the word ‘generous.’
This week in my Bible reading, I ran into this passage of scripture, this Jesus parable, where He talked about the “Laborers in the Vineyard.”

Matthew 20:1–2 (ESV) — 1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

So, if you read the parable, you will see that this man hires some men to work in his vineyard.
He hires some people at the beginning of the day – 6 AM — then three hours later, at 9 AM, he hires a few more.
Then, three hours later, at mid-day, Noon, he hires yet a few more.
But he’s not done hiring – five hours later, at 5 PM, he hires even more men.
So, they are all out there working.
Now, night falls — you can’t work in the dark — so, it’s time to pay everybody.
In the parable, listen to this now, those who were hired at 5 PM, eleven hours into the shift, came to get paid, now they have only worked an hour or two of a really long day and do you know what the owner of the vineyard does?
He pays the guys who hired on at 5 PM the exact amount he paid the guys who hired on right at the beginning of the day, 6 AM.
The 6 AM crew worked eleven more hours than the 5 PM crew, yet they both got paid the same.
The 6 AM crew hollered out in the parable, ‘that’s not fair; how can you pay us the same.’
Listen to what the owner of the vineyard said.

Matthew 20:13–15 (ESV) — 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’

So, the issue in this parable is not of fairness.
Could it be that you also thoughts about fairness when you read this parable?
Did you think the same way as the workers who were hired late? — that the owner of the vineyard was being unfair?
If we look at this story based on fairness, of course, it’s not right for one person to work eleven hours more and get paid the same.
But equity is not what’s in view here.
The issue is generosity.
The vineyard owner was displaying generosity toward the workers who got hired at the end of the day.
He was being generous to the latter group, not unfair to the early group.
When you give someone something they haven’t earned, what is that?
It’s grace! It’s favor, its compassion, its mercy, and that’s what we’ve been talking about.
Showing someone ‘grace’ means being generous.
Generous means were willing to give and share lavishly.
It means to be liberal or philanthropic.
So, here is one thing that we all need to see — to receive pardon for our sins, we must receive God’s grace — God’s liberality and not try to generate liberality as a means of receiving pardon.
You must accept God’s version of generosity, not try to establish your righteousness on your version of generosity.

God’s Grace in the New Testament

All grace is all God — even in the life of Jesus.

Luke 2:40 (ESV) — 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

So, we have looked at the Hebrew word for grace – we drilled down into its definition, but what about the Greek word, the one used in the New Testament?
In Luke two, God the Father showed Jesus His Son favor.
The favor of God was upon Him.
The Greek word for favor here is the word ‘charis,’ and with that thought, here is the Definition of the day.
The word grace used in Luke 2:40 means a beneficent disposition toward someone, favor, grace, gracious care/help, goodwill³
It means grace or goodwill freely disseminated (by God), especially to the recipient’s benefit regardless of the benefit accrued to the disseminator — that’s another way of saying it.
So, in Luke’s gospel, what we have here is a statement concerning Jesus’ development.
Jesus grew and became strong – that’s physical development.
But it’s not only physical growth strength that Jesus experienced.
He also grew spiritually strong — does that fact intrigue you?
The Son of God had to grow?
Jesus grew in wisdom — he wasn’t born with it.
He developed in it.
One writer said it this way:

‘Being filled with wisdom’ is to be connected to his being strengthened as a closely related concept and means that wisdom (his perception of the will and rule of God) increasingly became the dominating power of his life ⁴.

Here is a side thought — children can and should grow spiritually.
They can grow in wisdom.
Wisdom comes from God’s precepts.
So, teach your children the Bible — be a vehicle by which the Word can be placed in their spirits.
Sing the word into them.
Pray the word into them.
Worship the Word in them.
Allow them to grow spiritually.
Now, Jesus’ development — His ability to grow spiritually and physically strong is a product of God’s grace.
God’s grace was upon Him.
We’ve already seen what that means — favor, compassion, mercy, generosity — all was upon the life of Jesus from the hand of God.
John sums up grace in the life of Jesus in his gospel.
In fact, out of the four gospels, the word grace only appears here in John.
The word occurs three times in chapter one.

John 1:17 (ESV) — 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

God’s grace was upon Jesus, and that divine favor became an outworking from His life along with the Word of God that He taught.
Grace and truth came through Jesus.
What about God’s grace in the believer’s life?
Let’s look at that.

The Pathway of God’s Grace in the Life of a Believer

Let’s look at how grace makes its journey in salvation.

Acts 20:24 (ESV) — 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

The gospel is called the gospel of the grace of God in Acts 20:24
Now listen to this verse in Acts.

Acts 18:27 (ESV) — 27 And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed,

So, here we have the gospel of grace being believed by grace.
This gospel, this good news about Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is all about grace — by grace, are you saved through faith.
But it’s not just a gospel of grace — you also receive it by grace.
The message that came to you that someone took time to witness about God to you is all a matter of grace.
In other words, God favored you to hear the message of redemption.
So, eternal life comes by grace through faith, and it comes to you because of God’s grace, favor, mercy, compassion, and generosity.
Let’s move on now to the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 13:9 (ESV) — 9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.

Your heart, your spirit man, your inner man, the core of your being core can be strengthened with grace.
The message itself is of grace; its delivery to you is grace, and that same grace impacts your daily spiritual life.
Meaning what? — meaning that God’s favor entirely inundates the whole of your Christian experience.
It’s God’s grace, favor, compassion, mercy, and generosity from start to finish.
We can add another word to add grace besides the ones we just mentioned — you know, favor, mercy, compassion, and generosity.
How about the word power?
Yes, power connects to grace.

God’s Grace in Connection with Power

Acts 6:8 (ESV) — 8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.

Stephen was full of grace and power.
The word ‘full’ that’s used here means pertaining to containing within itself all that it will hold, filled, full⁵
Stephen was full of grace, contained within himself all that it will hold.’
That can only mean that Stephen was stacked, packed, and running over with God’s favor and compassion.
What a great place to be in – full of grace.
But Stephen was not just full of grace — he was also full of power.
God’s grace isn’t just a theoretically nice pretty word.
It’s not an empty platitude or concept.
It has some bite to it.
Grace is compassion and compassion does things.
And, it does with raw power from the very Throne of God.

Matthew 9:36–38 (ESV) — 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Jesus had compassion for the lost sheep among the people.
So, He admonished us to pray — He acted — He did something. He set in motion something — He said something.
And with that thought, here is the Illustration of the Day.

In 1945 Martin Niemoeller said, “The Nazis came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak up because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I was Protestant, so I didn’t speak up. Then they came for me … by that time there was no one to speak up for anyone.”

Compassion, favor, grace, does something — it speaks.
It does not remain silent.
God’s Grace not only speaks. It heals.

Matthew 14:14 (ESV) — 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

God’s favor made an appearance on the shores of the Sea of Galilee one day.
When Jesus saw this vast crowd, there were so many sick people among them.
People who were longing for normality, longing for a pain-free day, longing to be able to work.
Some of them were so sick they were reduced to begging.
They couldn’t work; they couldn’t provide and bring in the essentials for their families.
Jesus saw that mass of hurting humanity, and He was moved with compassion.
And God’s power went to work, flowing through Jesus and healing the multitudes.
God’s grace does stuff — it moves, heals, delivers, and sets people free.
Grace also strengthens and enables by God’s power.
Paul learned this aspect of God’s grace personally.
He got a face full of strengthening grace.

God’s Grace and Paul’s Thorn In the Flesh

So, we said that the Greek grace is the word ‘charis.’
The Greek word for power is ‘dunamis.’
Both words’ power is seen together working out Paul’s situation.
Paul received extraordinary revelations from the Lord — he was taken literally to heaven.
Here’s Paul’s account of the revelation that he received and the accompanying difficulty that went with it.

2 Corinthians 12:7–9 (ESV) — 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Some wish that God would take them to heaven and show them stuff.
They wish they had some supernatural experience like Paul had.
You don’t understand what Paul went through because of the revelations that he received.
Paul had problems — he would go into some regions and experience horrible persecutions — an almost endless list of difficulties.
Listen to this list of troubles.

2 Corinthians 11:23–29 (ESV) — 23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

Wow! That is all you can say to that.
Paul was in a pressure cooker.
These difficulties piled upon his body — all these persecutions stacked up on top of his life, and yet he kept on going — kept on doing — kept on traveling — kept on ministering the Word — kept on putting out the gospel.
But the extreme difficulties were grinding him down.
You are now we read this list of trials, and it’s so extensive that we read right past it because we can’t imagine anyone going through anything on this level.
Paul ended this lengthy chronicle of what happened to him with these words, ‘Who is weak and I am not weak?’
So, he starts talking to God about all of this.
He prays three times.
What does that mean?
That means the first time he prayed, he didn’t get a response.
Meaning he went through something else.
He prayed again and got nowhere — meaning what? — another trial, another difficulty, another riot.
The problems and pressures all continued right on — no reduction.
Finally, the third time came, and the Lord spoke to him this time.

2 Corinthians 12:9–10 (ESV) — 9 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

So, to this plethora of persecutions, this tankful of trials, and overabundant obstacles, what was the answer of God to Paul? — ‘My grace is sufficient for you.’
God’s grace was the answer.
Sufficient means adequate — sufficient means enough.
God’s grace was bigger than the surplus of persecutions.
But here is where some miss it.
When they read all of this, and they hear God’s response, ‘My grace is sufficient,’ what they think they hear God saying to Paul is, ‘Well Paul, just suck it up.’
That’s not what the Lord is saying at all.
Listen to the words again.

Power is the result.
God’s power coming upon, the Spirit of God resting upon Paul amid his trials is what the Lord is saying will happen.
What will that power do when it comes upon Paul?
It heals him — it will strengthen him, invigorate him, and lift him.
Paul understood what the Lord said, and his understanding of what the Lord said was, “Okay — when I am weak — I am strong.”
“When I go through situations that try to bring me down,” Paul says, “It’s cool because I know God’s power will reverse the effect and make me strong.”
Did you get that?
If God did that for Paul, and He is no respecter of persons, the Lord will do that for you.

The Name of Jesus, the Gifts of the Spirit, and Grace

So now, we have the ‘power’ connection to grace, and we can add that directly to favor, compassion, mercy, and generosity.
Here is a couple of other ties between grace and power: Let’s look at them – the Name of Jesus and the gifts of the Spirit.

The Grace of God and the Name of Jesus

The first link we want to look at is the Name of Jesus.

Philippians 2:9 (ESV) — 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

God highly exalted Jesus and bestowed on him the Name.
Where is the concept of favor in this verse?
You guessed it – it’s in the word bestowed.
The word ‘bestowed’ means giving with grace or giving graciously.
It means to give something as a sign of one’s benevolent goodwill toward someone.
This word links to the generosity aspect of grace.
The God who abounds in grace towards us gave us something – He highly favored us — He graced us by giving us access to the Name.
God exalted Jesus and highly favored Him — that’s what the word bestowed means — with a name that’s above every name.
So, the generosity aspect is in view but also, we can see the compassion part of the grace of God, and the mercy of God, in giving us a door to the Name of Jesus.
That Name, the Name of Jesus, gives us access to answered prayer.
We pray in that Name; we sing in that Name — we exercise authority in that Name.
Healing is received and ministered to others via that Name.
There are so many uses for the Name.
The Word of God clues us into just how broad and wide-ranging that use is.

Colossians 3:17 (ESV) — 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

The Name of Jesus can and should permeate every aspect of your spiritual life.

The Grace of God and the Gifts of the Spirit

Here’s a second link to look at, the gifts of the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:1–7 (ESV) — 1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed… 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;… 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

Now, this link is plain; the word gifts here is in Greek, is the very word that we’ve been studying throughout this podcast — the word ‘charis’ or favor.
So, these spiritual gifts are spiritual graces.
They are spiritual favors coming from heaven to empower your life and the lives of others.

1 Corinthians 12:31 (ESV) — 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

Earnestly desire this grace from God.
Be positively and intensely interested in them.
Strive, desire, exert oneself earnestly, be dedicated toward is all the sense of that word⁶
Gifts of the spirit that bring healing — that bring help — that bring wholeness — that bring revelation — that bring deliverance that brings understanding — that bring comfort and encouragement are all manifestations of God’s grace, God’s favor, God’s compassion, God’s mercy, God’s power, and God’s generosity.
Did you get anything out of this podcast today?
You guys have a great God-week in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

#045: Why is the Throne of God a Merciful Place? [Podcast]

__________
References:

Hobbs, Herschel H. My Favorite Illustrations. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1990. ↩
Jonathan W. Lo, “Grace,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014). ↩
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 1079. ↩
An Exegetical Summary of Luke 1–11(2:40), from the UBS Handbook on Luke ↩
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 826. ↩
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 427. ↩

emeryhorvath.com

Equipping people to pursue God's glory

More of Why You Should Latch on to God’s Grace

Podcast: Light on Life Season 8 Episode 49

by Emery Horvath

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources

You can find more information on the book of Ephesians by clicking on the links below.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Podcast Notes

By Grace, You Have Been Saved

Reviewing God’s Grace in the Old Testament

God’s Grace in the New Testament

The Pathway of God’s Grace in the Life of a Believer

God’s Grace in Connection with Power

God’s Grace and Paul’s Thorn In the Flesh

The Name of Jesus, the Gifts of the Spirit, and Grace

The Grace of God and the Name of Jesus

The Grace of God and the Gifts of the Spirit

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources

You can find more information on the book of Ephesians by clicking on the links below.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Podcast Notes

By Grace, You Have Been Saved

Reviewing God’s Grace in the Old Testament

God’s Grace in the New Testament

The Pathway of God’s Grace in the Life of a Believer

God’s Grace in Connection with Power

God’s Grace and Paul’s Thorn In the Flesh

The Name of Jesus, the Gifts of the Spirit, and Grace

The Grace of God and the Name of Jesus

The Grace of God and the Gifts of the Spirit

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