Living under God's grace
The name of our church—Grace Communion International—begins with the word grace. This term best describes our shared journey with God in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. The word "grace" appears 218 times in the Luther Bible, yet a clear definition is elusive. It originally comes from an ancient Hebrew word meaning "to incline" or "to bend." Over time, its meaning evolved to "God's bowing grace."
How do you experience God's grace? What role does it play in your life? Is grace part of your personal identity? How does God's grace influence your way of life? The title of today's sermon is: Living under God's grace.
Jesus became flesh and lived among us, full of grace:
JOH 1,14 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
The glory of Jesus is full of grace. God's grace also worked in Paul:
1. KOR 15,10 "But by the grace of God I am what I am. And his grace toward me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all—yet not I, but the grace of God that is with me."
Through God’s mercy, Paul was justified thanks to Jesus’ grace:
ICT 3,4-7 "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."
God's grace defines our identity, determines our actions, justifies us, and gives us hope for eternal life. The question is: Do you truly understand what God's grace is and how it works in your life, not just intellectually, but in a way that shapes your personality and transforms you? Many people who encounter God's grace fear being no longer under the law. They believe this could lead to irresponsible sin. Paul countered this view and responded:
ROMAN 6,15 "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? God forbid!"
What do we say to those who think they can live as they please because they are under grace? Paul placed a close relationship between grace and obedience:
ROMAN 1,5 "Through him (Jesus) we have received grace and apostleship to make the obedience of faith known to all the Gentiles for his name's sake."
Faith and obedience appear here in the same sentence. John wrote:
1. JOH 5,3 "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not burdensome. For everything that is born of God overcomes the world; and our faith is the victory that overcomes the world."
Here, love for God and obedience go hand in hand. Grace, faith, love, and obedience are found side by side in many New Testament verses. What connects these apparent opposites? It is Jesus Christ! Jesus embodies the character, mind, and will of God. When we orient ourselves to Jesus Christ, Christ-centered living, we are transformed:
2. KOR 3,17-18 "The Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."
Unfortunately, many Christians have a limited understanding of Jesus. They seemingly submit to his will because it is commanded. However, this submission is a deep matter of the heart. It is a completely new life in a Christ-oriented and Christ-centered relationship. Our lives can be completely determined by him. Unfortunately, many people have not yet recognized Jesus' true greatness and his sovereignty over all creation. Grace is not the removal of a law, a rule, or an obligation! If that were true, the saying "The more transgressions, the more grace" would be true. However, this misunderstanding would prevent a spiritual breakthrough.
It is important to understand:
We love and obey God because he first loved us. We also love our enemies because God first loved us and them. Obedience, therefore, is not mere submission, but stems from an intimate relationship with God. In the Gospel of John, we already saw that Jesus Christ is full of grace and thus personifies God's grace. Let's read on:
JOH 1,15-18 "John testifies about him, crying out, 'This was he of whom I said, 'After me comes one who is before me, for he was before me.' From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.'"
Jesus is God's grace and reveals that God himself is full of grace. He gives us his grace because he is a giving God—a free gift in Jesus Christ.
ROMAN 5,15-17 "But the gift is not like sin. For if by the one man's trespass many died, much more will the grace and gift of God abound to many through the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ. And the gift is not like that which came through the one sinner. For judgment came from one man to condemnation, but grace brings about righteousness out of many trespasses. For if by the one man's trespass death reigned through the one, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ!"
In Christ we receive the "abundance of grace," the "gift of righteousness," and "eternal life." Paul further writes:
EPH 2,8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, lest anyone should boast."
God's grace is an undeserved gift. It exists independently of sin. In other words, God doesn't need sin to be gracious. Conversely, sin doesn't end God's goodness because God's nature is faithfulness:
2. TIM 2,13 "If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful; for he cannot deny himself."
God's grace does not depend on our behavior or on our obedience or disobedience.
ROMAN 5,6 and 8 "For while we were still weak, Christ died for us ungodly people. But God demonstrates his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Jesus died for all people—for those living today, for those who have died, and for those yet to be born. He did this not only for us who call ourselves Christians. This truth should humble us and move us to sincere thanksgiving, for God loves each individual, cares for them, and is interested in their lives. Therefore, we look forward with hope to the day when Christ returns and his grace will be revealed to all people.
Let us now see how obedience can be combined with grace. The only obedience God is interested in is obedience of faith—faith in God's faithfulness and His Word.
Obedience must always have its origin in faith:
ROM 16,25-27 "Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret for ages past, but has now been revealed and made known through the writings of the prophets, according to the command of the eternal God, to establish the obedience of faith among all nations—to him, the only and wise God, be glory forever and ever through Jesus Christ."
Obedience of faith is our response to God's grace! God is not interested in our self-righteousness, but in the righteousness that comes from faith:
ROMAN 9,30-33 "What shall we say to this? The Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained righteousness, namely, the righteousness that comes from faith. But Israel, who pursued the law of righteousness, did not attain the law. Why is this? Because they did not seek righteousness by faith, but as if it came from works. They stumbled over the stumbling block (that is, Jesus Christ), as it is written: Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."
For Paul, his spiritual life was not based on what he had done, was doing, or would do for Jesus, but solely on what Jesus had accomplished for him:
PHIL 3,8-9 "Yes, I still consider everything but loss compared with the surpassing virtue of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have lost all these things and count them as rubbish, so that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God through faith."
Through Jesus Christ, God allows us to share in his righteousness. We accept this gift by trusting that Jesus gives it to us.
If we doubt God's promises, then we do not trust in God's grace!
True obedience grows from a life of trust in one's relationship with God. Disobedience, on the other hand, reflects unbelief. A life that does not yet know or rejects God's promises remains without hope. If we believe in His promises and their fulfillment, this naturally leads us to an obedient life.
God's goal for us is for us to mature into perfection, trust Him unconditionally, and love Him with our whole being. God's perfect and unconditional love will bring us safely to our goal:
PHIL 1,6 "I am confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus."
All the doubts, weaknesses, and sins that still plague us today will one day be overcome. It is crucial that we recognize, understand, and accept God's grace. God's grace should touch and transform us in all its depths and produce in us an obedience of faith.
When our faith is rooted in God's grace, it gives us the strength to treat others with kindness—even when they have hurt or disappointed us. It opens our hearts not to reject our enemies, but to approach them with love and extend a hand of reconciliation. At the same time, we trust in God's justice rather than our own efforts. We learn to place his goodness above our judgments and to be guided by his Spirit. The more we rely on his grace, the more consistently an obedient faith shapes our thoughts, words, and actions. The appearance of God's grace changes us as people:
ICT 2,11-14 "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all people, teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age, waiting for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all unrighteousness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works."
We become ambassadors of God's love. We reflect God's mercy, bring hope to a world of conflict, and promote reconciliation where division exists. We discover that true life flourishes where God's boundless grace is given space to shape our hearts and manifest through us.
Let us thank and praise our Creator for his love and grace. Let us thank him that he was gracious when we were still his enemies. As recipients of God's grace in Christ, we share not only in the love and life of the Father through his Son in the Spirit, but also in God's mission in the world. When Jesus will return in power and glory, neither the angels nor we know. Therefore, let us focus on making the love of God that dwells in us through Jesus Christ visible to our fellow human beings, and let us wait patiently for Jesus' return.
by Pablo Nauer
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