The Rain of God's Grace

 

Introduction: Different definitions exist for grace, one of which is ‘unmerited favour’. Grace however can also be defined as the kindness of God that brings us mercy, favour, and ability.

Rom 4:16

It is of faith, so that it might be by grace. Salvation through faith is an act of grace in itself. God decided to bless everybody in the world through Abraham by making salvation through faith. Keeping the law was always an issue for man. The law was not meant to make man righteous; it was to show man that he needed God to be righteous. Hence God allowing people to be saved by believing is an act of grace.

Why did God choose Abraham – Josh 24:1-3

Abraham’s father was an idol worshipper, and we can assume that he was possibly worshipping other gods with his father. God calling Abraham therefore was an act of grace; Abraham was called by grace not because of anything he was or he did. The same way God called Abraham, He is calling us also whenever we hear the Gospel. By hearing the Gospel, we are being called to obtain the glory of Christ (2Thess 2:14). God calls us to obtain the glory of Christ; one major purpose of grace is to glorify His name; to give us glory in Christ Jesus and glorify His name. The reason God gives us abundant grace is so that people will thank Him. He wants to manifest His grace in our lives so much that people will glorify His name for it (2Cor 4:15). The purpose of grace is for God’s name to be glorified and this is why He longs to manifest His grace in our lives. He called us so that through our lives people will praise Him for how great His grace is (Eph 1:6; 2:4-7). He wants to use us to show off.

Grace for All

By the grace of God He called Abraham, but He has changed the plan; the call is now to everyone. The initial call was to Abraham and His seed (Christ), but God started with his physical seed (Isaac, Jacob and all his children) and only the Israelites had the blessing. Now however, the call has been extended to everyone and the blessing is for all who are children of Abraham through Christ (Gal 3:13-14). Grace is now for all through Christ, and all is blessed with Abraham through faith in Christ (Gal 3:26-29).

Mercy, Favour and Ability

Mercy pardon or not receiving deserved punishment, negative treatment or penalty. Favour is receiving something good and pleasant that we do not deserve and Ability is capacity to function beyond our normal ability; Favour is external while Ability is internal. The grace of God manifests in these three dimensions. God does not just have mercy on us; He gives us Ability to overcome sin and manifesting the gifts of the Spirit is also as a result of His Ability. In Gen 20:1-18, we see the grace of God in all three dimensions. Abraham was not killed after he lied to Abimelech because of Mercy; he received what he did not deserve because of favour - Gen 20:14-16, and in Gen 21:1-3, we see divine ability at work. They were able to perform beyond human ability because of the grace of God.

Grace comes by the Promise

Grace comes by promise; Abraham received the grace of God by the promise (Rom 4:13). The promise is God’s declaration of what He wants to do. The declaration of His ability and His will. The fall of man came about by a promise and in the same way the rise of man comes by a promise. Grace came by the promise of God, and in our lives we receive God’s grace by His promises. God gives us grace when we listen and hearken to His promises (Isaiah 55). When God is speaking to us He is giving us grace, and just as rain helps plants to grow and bear fruits, God’s word will build our lives and make us receive our inheritance (Acts 20:32). Grace comes by the promise.

Heb 6:11-19

We get the rain of God’s grace by His love and His promises. His promises are based on His love for us, and the oath is what Christ did on the cross. When Christ was dying on the cross, He was using His blood to sign the contract and confirm the oath. An oath empowers a promise, and the reason why God’s promises will not fail in our lives is because Christ has settled it. If God’s promises fail, then Christ died in vain. Our consciousness of God’s love attracts His promises into our lives. Get into God’s presence and receive His promises. The gospel is the gospel of grace (Gal 1:6, Acts 20:24), and whenever God is speaking to us, He is releasing His grace to us. In 2Kings 3:9-24 God showed great grace to the three kings in that they received abundance of water, and the water also aided in the destruction of their enemy. But if Elisha did not get into God’s presence and received His grace, they would have remained there.

Faith comes by us hearing His word, and as we declare it, by His love and His promises we receive the rain of His grace. By faith we have access into the grace of God, and He will manifest His grace in our lives when we hold on to His promises. Because of Christ we are qualified for God’s grace, His grace is already raining. All we have to do is receive.


Rev. Ifoghale Efeturi,
Preached in 2014.