What Is The Definition Of Grace
What is grace?
Interestingly, there are 50 definitions from your dictionary ranging from a name, a short prayer we say before meals, or a characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or refinement.
However, when we are talking about scripture grace is defined as free and undeserved favor. It is often used in reference to God, securing man's eternal salvation from sin. Grace is the central theme of Christianity, the story of Jesus Christ and the stories of God throughout the scriptures. It is the dominant way that God interacts with mankind.
In short, Grace is when we receive something positive that we didn’t earn or deserve.
It sits in contrast to mercy which is when we don’t get something negative (usually punishment or bad consequences) that we do deserve.
In short
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—”
God’s grace produces gratefulness
When we truly understand all that God has done for us, it changes us from the inside out. God does not demand our love like an abusive dictator he woos us with his undeserved, unconditional, unrelenting love. It is God’s grace that gives us the strength to endure the most difficult times because we know he will never leave us or forsake us and that he will work all things together for our good.
We receive his Grace through Faith
In order to experience God’s grace, we have to receive it by faith. Faith is our best response to God’s message of love and grace. When we see how he has been faithful to mankind through all of human history it should produce a sense of trust in us that he will be faithful to us and that he is worthy of our trust.
Let’s read more about others’ take on God’s grace, how they’ve defined and experienced it to help move our hearts closer toward God.
God’s Grace is Power for Living
John Piper, who had authored more than 50 books including my recent favorite, Providence, expounded on the definition of grace as an undeserved favor and how it is an influence or a force or, a power or acting of God.
“God is a God of grace. And that’s true. It’s wonderful. Our eternal lives depend on it.
None of us would be saved if grace were not undeserved favor, and were not a quality in the mind of God, in the heart of God, in the nature of God.
God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. Grace is not only a disposition or a quality or an inclination in the nature of God, but is an influence or a force or a power or an acting of God that works in us to change our capacities for work and suffering and obedience.”
Be inspired by John’s wisdom as you listen to his recent interview here: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-is-grace
God’s Grace is “Unconditional Love”
Grace, as defined in What’s In The Bible, is getting something good that you have not earned or deserve. When you receive grace, you are given something better than what you deserve.
“The grace of God is the most beautiful and powerful thing we will ever encounter, but it is also the most difficult concept for us to wrap our minds around. Grace pushes back against our understanding of what is fair and what people deserve.”
Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return
In his upcoming book, One-Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World, Tullian Tchividjian borrows a helpful definition from Paul Zahl:
“Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return. Grace is love coming at you that has nothing to do with you. Grace is being loved when you are unlovable….
Grace is a love that has nothing to do with you, the beloved. It has everything and only to do with the lover.
Grace is irrational in the sense that it has nothing to do with weights and measures. It has nothing to do with my intrinsic qualities or so-called “gifts” (whatever they may be). It reflects a decision on the part of the giver, the one who loves, in relation to the receiver, the one who is loved, that negates any qualifications the receiver may personally hold…. Grace is one-way love.”
Take a closer look at other insights on grace in this article: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-is-grace
God’s Grace is A Gift
Got Questions Ministries tells us that the Bible repeatedly calls grace a “gift”. This is an important analogy because it teaches us some key things about grace. The best thing about this gift is that it is ours to keep forever.
“Grace is an essential part of God’s character. Grace is closely related to God’s benevolence, love, and mercy. Grace can be variously defined as “God’s favor toward the unworthy” or “God’s benevolence on the undeserving.” In His grace, God is willing to forgive us and bless us abundantly, in spite of the fact that we don’t deserve to be treated so well or dealt with so generously.
Grace is what saves us
God extended His favor to us. Grace is what saves us (Ephesians 2:8). Anyone who has ever received a gift understands that a gift is much different from a loan, which requires repayment or return by the recipient. The fact that grace is a gift means that nothing is owed in return.
Grace does not stop once we are saved; God is gracious to us for the rest of our lives, working within and upon us.”
Get a better view of what grace does in our lives through this article. : https://www.gotquestions.org/definition-of-grace.html
God’s Grace is the Essence Of The Gospel
The core of the Bible is the doctrine of the grace of God. Justin Holcomb, author of On the Grace of God, shares that grace is the most important concept in the Bible, Christianity, and the world. It is most clearly expressed in the promises of God revealed in Scripture and embodied in Jesus Christ.
Grace is the love of God shown to the unlovely; the peace of God given to the restless; the unmerited favor of God.
Christians live every day by the grace of God. We receive forgiveness according to the riches of God’s grace, and grace drives our sanctification. Paul tells us, “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives” (Titus 2:11).
Spiritual growth doesn’t happen overnight; we “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 2:18). Grace transforms our desires, motivations, and behavior.”
Read more about Justin’s concept of grace and a powerful prayer for when you need God's grace, on this article: https://www.christianity.com/theology/what-is-grace.html
a summary of the definitions of grace
God’s grace, despite the varied definitions, truly grounds and empowers everything in the Christian life. My prayer for you is that you experience God every day as you grow in faith and are moved by the most precious characteristic of God, his amazing grace.