Grow in Grace
In II Peter 3:18, Peter closes his second letter with this last sentence. “But grow in grace,
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.” (KJV) Romans 5:1-2 tells us how we enter into this grace. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” Paul also addresses this subject when he tells Timothy to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” (II Timothy 2:1) KJV What does it mean to be strong, and to grow in grace? How is this accomplished in our lives?
Some consider grace simply from the standpoint of an acronym. “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.” God certainly did give us His riches at Christ’s expense, but grace existed long before we were ever on the scene. From eternity past to eternity future grace is a manifestation of God Himself. It is reflected in all He is and in all that He does. We are dependent upon His grace for our very existence. Every aspect of our physical existence, our spiritual birth, and development into Christ likeness and our eternity with Him is dependent upon His grace. To grow in grace, we need to understand our total dependence upon Him.
When Paul told Timothy to be strong in grace, he was instructing him to be strong in dependency. We think of strength as being adequate in ourselves, having the capability, the perseverance and wisdom to carry out our plans. To be strong in grace, however, means just the opposite. It is a dependence upon Someone else. It implies a realization that without Him, we can do nothing. We are strong in what comes from Someone else. Ian Thomas describes this dependence as follows. “He in us is the origin of His own image, source of His own activity, dynamic of His own demands and cause of His own effect.” The Indwelling Life of Christ. Multnomah Books 2006, pg 25. Ray Stedman once commented regarding the song, “I Need Thee Every Hour.” He stated that He did not believe that. When questioned why, He replied. “Because I need Him every second.” Colossians 3:4 states that Christ is our life. If I am to be strong in grace, strong in dependency, strong in what comes from Him, then I am going to look to Him for His words through me, His use of my eyes, my hands, my feet, my mind, and all my possessions. I am His and He is mine.
In John 9, Jesus states “I have come into the world to give sight to those who are spiritually blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” (John 9:39) LB We could also consider that the Lord came into the world to give grace to those who admit they are in need, and to show those who think they have no need that they need His grace. Growth in grace begins when we admit our need to Him. We need to pray the following verse with the Psalmist. “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24) KJV. The more we are conscious of our need, the more we seek Him and His throne of grace. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) KJV.
The increasing consciousness of the reality of his own life in regard to what he was without Christ drove the Apostle Paul to seek the grace of God. He states the following in an early letter (I Corinthians 15:7) that, “I am the least of the Apostles.” Ten years later he refers to himself as “Less than the least of all God’s people.” (Ephesians 3:8) In another ten years we find this statement in I Timothy 1:15. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.” The increasing awareness of who he was apart from the grace of God impelled him to draw more and more heavily upon that which came from God (His grace) to supply all that he needed for his life.
Many experiences which we have in life serve to draw us closer to the throne of grace. Some of these may include heartbreaking or devastating circumstances including loss of loved ones, uncertain employment, financial struggles, impaired relationships, and declining health. The Apostle Paul tells us his own experience in this regard. “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
(II Corinthians 12:7-10) The Lord wants us to know that there is never any situation or experience allowed in our lives in which His grace is not sufficient for us. The degree of weakness we experience only serves to magnify the degree of grace which we receive. We learn the truth of what is written in Romans 8:38-39. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Our growth in grace which God has for us includes another dimension. This is to be found in II Corinthians 8:9. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” I thought about this verse recently as I was sitting in the office of an inner city pastor. A homeless woman appeared at the door and then came in and sat in a chair beside me. Her story included being abandoned by her father, a history of drug abuse, losing her three children to foster care, with no job, no money, no food, no place to call her home and nowhere to go. As the Lord brought this verse to mind, I considered what it would be like for me to give her the keys to my car, all my cash, and all my credit cards and take what change she had in her purse in exchange. She would assume my riches, and I would assume her poverty. In actuality, such a trade would be minuscule and temporary compared to the grace offered to us by Christ. Paul tells us that this grace has been given to us to remind us that we are to be channels of His grace to others. “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.” (II Corinthians 8:1-4)
We have much to learn and experience about grace. This present life offers only a shadow of what we will experience of grace in the ages to come. We are given a foretaste of this in the closing verse of the Bible. “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.
(Revelations 22:21) May the Lord continue to increase His flow of grace to you and through you for his glory as we await the progressive revelation of His grace throughout eternity.
In Christ, Richard Spann