How God Designed Grace

Suppose you are driving to work, and you are late. All you can think about is getting there as fast as possible, and you are caught on radar going 56 miles per hour where the speed limit is just 35. You are taken to the courthouse to stand before the judge. You are 100 percent guilty, and the fine for going that much over the speed limit is $250. The judge acknowledges your violation of the law and pronounces the sentence. But then something unexpected happens. He reaches into his pocket and personally pays your $250 fine. You are amazed at his kindness and generosity—and breathe a sigh of relief. You are free to go.As you leave the building, you suddenly realize the judge has followed you outside and is gazing intently at your car, which is an older model with high mileage. Again, he reaches into his pocket, only this time he pulls out the keys to a brand new, beautiful car, which is totally paid for and that he drove off the dealership lot the day before. You are in shock. Where did all this favor come from? It certainly had nothing to do with you! The only thing the judge knows about you is that you broke the law. Why did he pay your fine and give you a new car?

Everything the judge did was based on his character and nature, not on you or your driving performance.

You deserved a penalty, but the judge paid it for you, and on top of that, he gave you a brand-new car.Now, stop and think about how you would respond if such an event actually occurred in your life. Would you drive away from that courthouse bemoaning what a careless driver you had been and mentally grovel about your unworthiness to receive such a fine gift? I don’t think so. While you would certainly realize you had been careless in your driving, you would be totally focused on the great generosity and kindness the judge had extended toward you. You would forever love, honor, respect, and appreciate him. Your new devotion to him and high regard for his character would hopefully inspire you to become merciful, gracious, and generous to others, just like he was to you.

This is how God intends for His grace work in your life.

Unmerited Favor Dissected

It has been said, “Mercy is not getting what you deserve, and grace is getting what you don’t deserve.” It has also been said, “We owed a debt we could not pay, and Jesus paid a debt He did not owe.” These statements speak of “unmerited favor” as the definition of God’s grace, which is perhaps the most commonly-used definition of grace. Unfortunately, you can focus so heavily on the “unmerited” part that you are unable to enjoy the “favor” of God.

Instead of driving away in the new car that was gifted to you, filled with love and devotion for the Benevolent Judge, you might climb back into your old car and drive away under a cloud of guilt and condemnation.

You can dwell so much on your own unworthiness that you hang your head in shame, thinking yourself to be nothing but the proverbial “worm in the dust.” You may even wallow perpetually in self-abasement, literally stuck in the mud. If you are living in the shadow of past sins and failures, it is time to change your perspective! The blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed you from all sin and you have been made a child of God. You have a new nature. You need to stop magnifying your past failures and instead magnify His abundant and superior grace. Why? It is His grace that will enable you to overcome your present struggles and move into the future He has for you.It is completely true that we did nothing to merit or earn the favor of God. To the contrary, we specifically did not merit or deserve it, because all of us have sinned (Romans 3:23). Just like our example of receiving favor after breaking the speed limit, God gave us His favor in spite of ourselves and on the basis of His character and nature—certainly not on the basis of our performance or perfection.

The way to take full advantage of the grace God wants to pour in and through your life is to focus on Him and His grace instead of yourself and your failings.

If you perpetually look at yourself (unmerited), you will magnify your faults and flaws; if you focus on Jesus (favor), you will walk in the light of His favor, operating freely in the benefits of His grace and honoring Him for giving His life for you and to you.

Grace Inspires Worship

There is no word in the New Testament that baffles the expositor more than this word grace. Gather up the occasions in which it is found in the New Testament, and read them in their context; then sit down in the presence of them, and wonder, and worship.

—G. Campbell Morgan 1

Any attempt to define or describe the grace of God should be undertaken with reverential awe and humility. God’s grace is so vast, so amazing, and so immeasurable! Our finite minds may feel overwhelmed because God’s grace is more than words can convey or imaginations can conceive.When you thought of yourself driving away from that courthouse totally free and overwhelmingly blessed, your heart was filled with love and awe for that benevolent judge. And the only fitting response to the riches of God’s grace, powerfully revealed to you through the death and resurrection of His Son, is to worship and serve the God of all grace for the rest of your life.We must avoid any fleshly inclination to become proud or arrogant because we think we have achieved some great level of knowledge about God and His grace. In fact, if our understanding of God’s grace does not make us more devoted and humble, then we probably do not understand it as well as we think we do!Paul admonished believers in 1 Corinthians 8:1-2, “Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.” He had admonished us earlier in 1 Corinthians 4:7 NIV, “What do you have that you did not receive?” Insights concerning God’s grace are truths He reveals and imparts to us. Though we should certainly study God’s Word, His grace is not something we are going to completely grasp apart from Him. And the moment we conclude we have His grace all figured out in our heads, our heart ceases to be open to learn more of who He is, what He has done, and what He desires to do on our behalf—which is all by His grace.

God Does Not Change

Some seem to believe that God was mean and angry in the Old Testament, but somehow became nice in the New Testament. Others seem to believe that there are two different Gods—a God of wrath in the Old Testament and a God of grace in the New Testament. The truth is that God did not undergo a personality change, and there have never been two different Gods. This is why grace is not simply a New Testament concept. The first mention of grace is in the first book of the Bible: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). Over the years I have read various definitions of the word chen, the Hebrew word translated grace in this verse. It simply implies showing favor, especially when that favor is undeserved.

Grace conveys the idea of one bending or stooping in kindness to bless someone of lesser rank or status. It also carries the idea of help, assistance, and generosity. 2

Noah and other Old Testament saints experienced the grace and favor of God, but New Testament believers can experience the grace of God in a greatly expanded and intensified way. How did the Holy Spirit define this amazing attribute of God at work in the lives of born-again believers? He used a very special word.

Charis

Grace in the New Testament is in some respects one of its greatest words. It always means two things—God’s favor and His blessing; His attitude and His action.

—W. H. Griffith Thomas 3

The meaning of words can intensify over time. For example, the word explosion took on new significance when the atomic bomb was introduced to the world in 1945. The general idea of an explosion remained the same, but the perception of the potential devastation from a single explosion grew exponentially in the minds and imaginations of people across the globe.The same is true of the Greek word charis, which is translated grace in English. Before Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom, charis simply referred to something that  is  beautiful, charming, or  pleasant. It described an act of lovingkindness or generosity. Charis was used to depict a person being favorably regarded, the showing of favor, or  the giving of a benefit. It was especially used when the favor shown    or the kindness exhibited was spontaneous and undeserved.4 Aristotle defined charis as “helpfulness towards someone in need, not in return for anything, nor that the helper may get anything, but for the sake of the person who is helped.”5The outstanding nature of the word charis made it a wonderful choice for Paul and other New Testament writers when they needed a word to describe God’s grace.

Grace is God's loving, kind, and benevolent nature was extravagantly expressed toward mankind through His Son, Jesus.

However, when charis was applied to the nature of God and His actions toward human beings, this already rich and beautiful word intensified in its grandeur.Then as today, a person could be benevolent to another without expecting anything in return; but the Greek and Roman gods were rarely benevolent—especially to those who didn’t deserve blessing or kindness. Furthermore, the pagan gods always expected something in return for any favor they might happen to give, and many times they were cruel just for the fun of it! That the God of the Bible would show such grace to all sinners—through the sacrifice of His own Son—was utterly astounding!In the New Testament, charis took on a more splendid and glorious meaning. The concept of grace soared to new heights as it began to express not simply the finite kindnesses of people but the eternal love, compassion, and mercy of the one, true God toward all mankind. This is probably one reason Paul wrote so much about God’s grace to the Romans, Galatians, and other churches with Gentile converts. The God of the Bible was totally different from the gods they had worshipped previously. He was the God who offered grace freely to all!Through the centuries of the Church, the revelation of God’s grace has inspired many outstanding descriptions. These insights capture slightly different perspectives and nuances of this amazing attribute of God, His marvelous grace.Grace is love that cares and stoops and rescues.

—John Stott 6

Grace and love are, in their innermost essence, one and the same thing.

—Alexander Whyte 7

Grace is the free, undeserved goodness and favor of God to mankind.

—Matthew Henry 8

Grace is a proclamation. It is the triumphant announcement that God in Christ has acted and has come to the aid of all who will trust Him for their eternal salvation.

—Lawrence O. Richards 9

Grace is the very opposite of merit... Grace is not only undeserved favor, but it is favor, shown to the one who has deserved the very opposite.

—Harry Ironside 10

Grace means more, far more than we can put into words, because it means nothing less than the infinite character of God Himself.

It includes mercy for the undeserving and unmerciful, help for the helpless and hopeless, redemption for the renegade and repulsive, love for the unloving and unlovely, kindness for the unkind and unthankful. And all this in full measure and overflowing abundance, because of nothing in the object, and because of everything in the Giver, God Himself.

—W. H. Griffith Thomas 11

*Footnote references are cited fully in The DNA of God.