What is "Grace?"

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skypair

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Nov 4, 2016
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Grace is manna from heaven .. free and unmerited gift of God .. we are to go out (seek it), gather it, and eat it (receive it) ere it corrupt or be taken away by the "evil one." It is the "incorruptible seed" … the Word of God," the very Spirit of God, "that lives and abides forever." (1Pet 1:23). It is the "daily bread" of our spiritual life.
And it is the "mustard seed" that, when received, grows into a giant tree that reproduces many times its same seed.

Grace is the wisdom of God that, if partaken of, leads to salvation and blessing. It is the incorruptible manna that is in the vessel of gold (= salvation) in the innermost part of our tabernacle .. our Holy of holies — our soul .. inside the ark of the (new) covenant .. underneath the mercy seat of God's Spirit in those of us who are saved.

Grace CAN BE resisted and rejected as "light" — void of any substance — hated in comparison to the "foods" of this world. Grace is not the salvation or the blessingitself but the cause of them if we partake of it. Most assuredly it is Christ come down from heaven to be sought each day, gathered and partaken of .. His body (bread) broken for us.

Grace is only edifying to those that partake of it. It is the Holy Spirit in the form of the gospel of salvation and of the Bible unto sanctification and blessings.
 

cga

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Oct 24, 2016
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skypair said:
Grace is manna from heaven .. free and unmerited gift of God .. we are to go out (seek it), gather it, and eat it (receive it) ere it corrupt or be taken away by the "evil one." It is the "incorruptible seed" … the Word of God," the very Spirit of God, "that lives and abides forever." (1Pet 1:23). It is the "daily bread" of our spiritual life.
And it is the "mustard seed" that, when received, grows into a giant tree that reproduces many times its same seed.

Grace is the wisdom of God that, if partaken of, leads to salvation and blessing. It is the incorruptible manna that is in the vessel of gold (= salvation) in the innermost part of our tabernacle .. our Holy of holies — our soul .. inside the ark of the (new) covenant .. underneath the mercy seat of God's Spirit in those of us who are saved.

Grace CAN BE resisted and rejected as "light" — void of any substance — hated in comparison to the "foods" of this world. Grace is not the salvation or the blessingitself but the cause of them if we partake of it. Most assuredly it is Christ come down from heaven to be sought each day, gathered and partaken of .. His body (bread) broken for us.

Grace is only edifying to those that partake of it. It is the Holy Spirit in the form of the gospel of salvation and of the Bible unto sanctification and blessings.
Grace is better translated as favor. If you see two strangers walking on the street, and you out of the blue decide to gift one of them $500, you have shown him favor. There was nothing that man did to gain your favor, you simply chose to give him a gift out of your own good will. That is how the favor of God is with all men, he gives it freely, not just when we have sinned and don't deserve it, but even before we were born he chose upon whom he will demonstrate his favor.
 

skypair

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Nov 4, 2016
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cga said:
Grace is better translated as favor. ... you simply chose to give him a gift out of your own good will. That is how the favor of God is with all men, he gives it freely, not just when we have sinned and don't deserve it, but even before we were born he chose upon whom he will demonstrate his favor.
Absolutely, but what is the form of the favor? Is it not the revelation of Himself .. of His wisdom .. of how to be saved and blessed? Yes, I am very familiar that grace is a favor given freely to men.

The problem with orthodox "grace" = salvation, itself .. blessing, itself. It is said to be the "gifts" of salvation, repentance, regeneration, forgiveness, etc. But God only gives such "gifts" to His own children .. those who are related to Him. Those are "gifts" but they aren't grace.


skypair
 

heretoeternity

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You are pulled over driving your vehicle 20 miles per hour over speed limit..you tell the cop you are sorry and promise to obey the rules of the road hereafter, and cop by his compassion does not give you a ticket...that is grace example on a human level...now what do you do? Pop wheelies and squeal tires and drive away? Or do you keep you promise to the cop and obey the rules of the road (repentance)?
 

skypair

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Nov 4, 2016
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heretoeternity said:
You are pulled over driving your vehicle 20 miles per hour over speed limit..you tell the cop you are sorry and promise to obey the rules of the road hereafter, and cop by his compassion does not give you a ticket...that is grace example on a human level...now what do you do? Pop wheelies and squeal tires and drive away? Or do you keep you promise to the cop and obey the rules of the road (repentance)?
Ah! That is the Calvinist view of repentance .. where repentance is a "fruit" of salvation as depicted in 2Cor 7:9-11. Or a "gift" of salvation, 2Tim 2:25, right? But there are 3 forms of repentance, hte. 1) You change your mind (this is the one that Calvinists believe saves, BTW.). You simply accept as true something that you had, heretofore, rejected.

2) You change your heart. You were convicted of sin and broken heartedly and contritely (Psa 34:18) you repent turning from your natural heart/desire to sin and receiving a new heart of flesh, the Holy Spirit of life and a living faith .. which is the divine nature.

3) Now also, there is what you are talking about — a change of your behavior. You recognize specific sins in your life and you repent — you actually, by the power of the Spirit, quit that sin per 2Cor 7:9-11.

So in your example, you would promise the cop that you wouldn't speed anymore (commit your heart to obeying — repentance #2) and he would (gift) let you off. :)

skypair
 

shnarkle

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Grace is something for nothing. Grace is slack. It's about being lucky rather than good. It's those little hints telling you that something is going on and you deserve better; hints that the world owes you a living. It's the ultimate in leisure...

"16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste." Isaiah 28:16

It is the yardstick by which we should measure ourselves. It is really the only good reason to get out of bed. It's neither created nor destroyed. If you don't have it, then it's somewhere it doesn't belong. It's what happens when you catch that big wave, get in that curl and SLIDE. It's a surge of uncorrupted gumption, an explosion of the "self"-not obliterating it, but bloating it. It is the path of least resistance.