GRACE ... is more than unmerited favor!

[Ronald David Bruno]

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Eph. 3:8-9

I was taught that Grace was God's "unmerited favor" towards mankind. But it is much more than that!
Grace is the core theme of the New Testament, that flows through all the books. Christians are under Grace. Being "in Christ is living in His Grace".
Grace is not just kindness or favor, it is His love in action, forgiveness, mercy, peace, knowledge, wisdom, power, sanctification, healing, good works prepared for us to do, an array of spiritual gifts, fruit, power and salvation. Grace makes us sufficient in all things. Jesus was declared righteous and this is from His grace. His righteousness is imputed to us.
The Doctrine of GRACE should be at the forefront of our teaching. To remove this very word from the Bible and to replace it with any other word would be consider gross negligence.

Acts of the Apostles 4:33
Acts of the Apostles 14:3
Acts of the Apostles 15:11
Acts of the Apostles 20:24
Romans 3:24
Romans 5:15
1 Corinthians 15:10
2 Corinthians 8:9
2 Corinthians 9:8
2 Corinthians 12:9
Ephesians 1:6-7
Ephesians 2:5-9
Ephesians 3:7-8.
2 Timothy 2:1
Titus 2:11
Titus 3:7
Hebrews 4:16
James 4:6
1 Peter 5:10

No questions, just a study.

 

[1stCenturyLady]

His righteousness is imputed to us.

"Imputed" implies a covering, instead of actually being righteous ourselves through the new nature Jesus creates in us. That is what is commonly taught in the Church, but is not a New Covenant doctrine from Jesus or the apostles.

Before Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, the OT saints were given imputed righteousness and their sins were overlooked and their sins were covered, but not taken away, in the blood of bulls and goats until the next year when they had to make a new sacrifice to include that year's sins on top of all those previously.

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

"Imputed" implies a covering, instead of actually being righteous ourselves through the new nature Jesus creates in us. That is what is commonly taught in the Church, but is not a New Covenant doctrine from Jesus or the apostles.

Before Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, the OT saints were given imputed righteousness and their sins were overlooked and their sins were covered, but not taken away, in the blood of bulls and goats until the next year when they had to make a new sacrifice to include that year's sins on top of all those previously.

Not a covering but a gift as His Grace gives to us. Or "assigned, ascribed, credited are other terms. We receive not just righteousness but all components of Grace. The "righteousness of Christ ... is imputed to [believers] — that is, treated as if it were theirs through faith." It is on the basis of Jesus' righteousness that God accepts humans. This also correlates with justification.
Everything is a gift from God. Yes our spiritual nature is in Christ so we are righteous as well as possessing a whole list of attributes.
Added: by J. V. Fesko
"Imputation is based on Old Testament sacrificial structures seen in places such as the Day of Atonement, where the sins of the people are transferred to a scapegoat. The prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah provide even clearer foundations for the doctrine, upon which the NT authors build. The apostle Paul provides the bulk of the NT teaching on imputation, clarifying three ways in which imputation functions: (1) Adam’s sin imputed to all of humanity; (2) the Christian’s sin imputed to Christ; and (3) Christ’s righteousness imputed to Christians. The latter two of these imputations Martin Luther famously called the “glorious exchange,” our sin for Christ’s righteousness."

 

[Enoch111]

"Imputed" implies a covering, instead of actually being righteous ourselves through the new nature Jesus creates in us. That is what is commonly taught in the Church, but is not a New Covenant doctrine from Jesus or the apostles.

This response indicates one of two things: (a) you do not know what the Bible says about imputed righteousness (and ignorance is no excuse) or (b) you chose to ignore this doctrine and pervert the truth. So which is it?

The Bible very definitely reveals that GOD IMPUTES RIGHTEOUSNESS to the one who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. This is an act of pure grace, and if you did not have imputed righteousness you could never enter Heaven.

 

[Enoch111]

I was taught that Grace was God's "unmerited favor" towards mankind. But it is much more than that!

This is correct. God's grace goes well beyond the forgiveness of sins, and encompasses everything pertaining to salvation and the life to come.

 

[Robert Gwin]

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Eph. 3:8-9

I was taught that Grace was God's "unmerited favor" towards mankind. But it is much more than that!
Grace is the core theme of the New Testament, that flows through all the books. Christians are under Grace. Being "in Christ is living in His Grace".
Grace is not just kindness or favor, it is His love in action, forgiveness, mercy, peace, knowledge, wisdom, power, sanctification, healing, good works prepared for us to do, an array of spiritual gifts, fruit, power and salvation. Grace makes us sufficient in all things. Jesus was declared righteous and this is from His grace. His righteousness is imputed to us.
The Doctrine of GRACE should be at the forefront of our teaching. To remove this very word from the Bible and to replace it with any other word would be consider gross negligence.

Acts of the Apostles 4:33
Acts of the Apostles 14:3
Acts of the Apostles 15:11
Acts of the Apostles 20:24
Romans 3:24
Romans 5:15
1 Corinthians 15:10
2 Corinthians 8:9
2 Corinthians 9:8
2 Corinthians 12:9
Ephesians 1:6-7
Ephesians 2:5-9
Ephesians 3:7-8.
2 Timothy 2:1
Titus 2:11
Titus 3:7
Hebrews 4:16
James 4:6
1 Peter 5:10

No questions, just a study.

Just spoke about this today Ron, in modern English what was rendered grace is actually kindness, nothing more nothing less, however in most instances it is referring to salvation, which is a gift from God out of His kindness, like you stated it is basically undeserved, as all of us inherited death from Adam, and nothing we can do can redeem us to life as the Law covenant proved to us. Through the sacrifice given in our behalf, every individual on earth who ever lived can be legally given the gift of everlasting life, if they choose to accept the gift. Interestingly most will not.

 

[1stCenturyLady]

The "righteousness of Christ ... is imputed to [believers] — that is, treated as if it were theirs through faith." It is on the basis of Jesus' righteousness that God accepts humans. This also correlates with justification.
Everything is a gift from God.

Yes our spiritual nature is in Christ so we are righteous as well as possessing a whole list of attributes.

Those two statements seem to contradict each other. The first seems to mean the doctrine of our present and future sins are not seen by the Father.

The second seems to mean that like Christ the new nature He gives us does not sin.

Added: by J. V. Fesko
"Imputation is based on Old Testament sacrificial structures seen in places such as the Day of Atonement, where the sins of the people are transferred to a scapegoat. The prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah provide even clearer foundations for the doctrine, upon which the NT authors build. The apostle Paul provides the bulk of the NT teaching on imputation, clarifying three ways in which imputation functions: (1) Adam’s sin imputed to all of humanity; (2) the Christian’s sin imputed to Christ; and (3) Christ’s righteousness imputed to Christians. The latter two of these imputations Martin Luther famously called the “glorious exchange,” our sin for Christ’s righteousness."

Imputed is only OT. The New Covenant is not imputed, but real. There was no rebirth in the OT. That is the difference.

Also, knowing that the word "practice" was not in the original but added based on belief in our own works, this passage clearly shows what the rebirth of our old nature into a brand new nature of Christ does for us. There is nothing "treated as if it were theirs through faith." There is no "as if" about it.

5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

 

[Eternally Grateful]

Grace is unmerited no matter what it is.

The fact we walk this earth is of grace.

the fact we have the offer to be saved eternally is by grace

the fact we have the ability to be gods child is by grace.

Its not a covering, It is a status.

We are saved by grace.. Its a gift. that gift can not be earned, since it can not be earned, it can not be lost.

 

[1stCenturyLady]

This response indicates one of two things: (a) you do not know what the Bible says about imputed righteousness (and ignorance is no excuse) or (b) you chose to ignore this doctrine and pervert the truth. So which is it?

The Bible very definitely reveals that GOD IMPUTES RIGHTEOUSNESS to the one who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. This is an act of pure grace, and if you did not have imputed righteousness you could never enter Heaven.

Where is the verse you put in bold, or is this the gospel of Enoch?

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

in modern English what was rendered grace is actually kindness, nothing more nothing less

You mean according to your New World Translation. Truth does not become outdated. You can view some 60 English Bible translations on Biblegateway.com for any particular verse. You will find that almost all of the above scriptures use "grace", certainly the most popular and cherished dozen versions do.
Grace is a different word in the Greek than kindness.
Kindness, as I explained, is only one gift from God received.
Is that all you receive from God ... nothing more, nothing less? Well, that explains why Jehovah Witnesses are so kind.
Did JESUS give you the Holy Spirit? Having a relationship with the Holy Spirit not only gives us new life but many other gifts: the fruit of the Spirit, knowledge of Christ, discernment, wisdom, guidance, comfort, power, spiritual gifts, sanctification, conviction, etc. Under Grace, we live by faith and not by works of the LAW. Under Grace we are given a new perspective, motivation and purpose. Under grace we died to our old selves.

"Grace is the holy love of God on the move". Juwett
Grace is the goodwill of God". Eddie
Grace: "All that the Greeks were and loved and exemplified in their art, literature and thought lies embedded in this word... God has in no word uttered Himself and all that is in His heart more than in this". Trench
"Grace has no measure." A.J. Flint
Grace is summoned up in the Name, Person, and work if the Lord Jesus Christ." C. Swindoll

That said, can we honor and glorify Jesus by simply saying He was kind? I think you need to expand on that.
How does your NWT translate Eph. 2:7 that states: "...that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness..."

Your translators got tripped up on that one, since a different word for kindness is used, it can't read "undeserved kindness in kindness" so it flips it around and partially concedes and says, "... undeserved kindness in his graciousness..."NWT

Ephesians 2:7 Lexicon: so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

"Imputed" implies a covering, instead of actually being righteous ourselves through the new nature Jesus creates in us. That is what is commonly taught in the Church, but is not a New Covenant doctrine from Jesus or the apostles.

Before Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, the OT saints were given imputed righteousness and their sins were overlooked and their sins were covered, but not taken away, in the blood of bulls and goats until the next year when they had to make a new sacrifice to include that year's sins on top of all those previously.

The word imputed is not accepted by 1stCenturyLady. Okay. By all means use the words that are comfortable to you.
Grace is ascribed to you, accredited to you, given to you. You did not earn it. You have it. God bless you.

 

[marks]

Imputed is only OT. The New Covenant is not imputed, but real.

Actually, Paul rejected 'his own righteousness', desiring instead the "righteousness of God that is by faith".

Imputed is not "unreal", as if we are all playing Let's Pretend.

Much love!

 

[1stCenturyLady]

The word imputed is not accepted by 1stCenturyLady. Okay. By all means use the words that are comfortable to you.
Grace is ascribed to you, accredited to you, given to you. You did not earn it. You have it. God bless you.

That is correct. The problem about "imputed" is that it further promotes the misinterpretation of God's grace. It is not unmerited favor; God's grace is the divine power of God given to us to completely change our nature to the divine nature of Christ. 2 Peter 1:2-4. It is not Christ's righteousness imputed to us to cover willful sins we continue to commit, as in unmerited favor. Christ was sinless, and His grace gives us the divine power of God to be and remain sinless also. Jesus was the firstborn of many brethren Romans 8:29-30, and why Christians who are born again do not sin. 1 John 3:9, and the Spirit gives us the desire to keep ourselves free from sin, 1 John 5:18.

 

[APAK]

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Eph. 3:8-9

I was taught that Grace was God's "unmerited favor" towards mankind. But it is much more than that!
Grace is the core theme of the New Testament, that flows through all the books. Christians are under Grace. Being "in Christ is living in His Grace".
Grace is not just kindness or favor, it is His love in action, forgiveness, mercy, peace, knowledge, wisdom, power, sanctification, healing, good works prepared for us to do, an array of spiritual gifts, fruit, power and salvation. Grace makes us sufficient in all things. Jesus was declared righteous and this is from His grace. His righteousness is imputed to us.
The Doctrine of GRACE should be at the forefront of our teaching. To remove this very word from the Bible and to replace it with any other word would be consider gross negligence.

Acts of the Apostles 4:33
Acts of the Apostles 14:3
Acts of the Apostles 15:11
Acts of the Apostles 20:24
Romans 3:24
Romans 5:15
1 Corinthians 15:10
2 Corinthians 8:9
2 Corinthians 9:8
2 Corinthians 12:9
Ephesians 1:6-7
Ephesians 2:5-9
Ephesians 3:7-8.
2 Timothy 2:1
Titus 2:11
Titus 3:7
Hebrews 4:16
James 4:6
1 Peter 5:10

No questions, just a study.

Been saying this till I'm blue in the face....everything is the grace of God and then of the grace of Christ in places as the primal blessing upon us all that believe then have faith in the works and words of the Father and Son in Spirit. And it of course because of this overarching act grace we can also be saved. Great OP!

 

[Robert Gwin]

You mean according to your New World Translation. Truth does not become outdated. You can view some 60 English Bible translations on Biblegateway.com for any particular verse. You will find that almost all of the above scriptured use "grace", certainly the mjst popular and cherished dozen versions.
Grace is a different word in the Greek than kindness.
Kindness, as I explained, is only one gift from God received.
Is that all you receive from God ... nothing more, nothing less? Well, that explains why Jehovah Witnesses are so kind. Did JESUS give you the Holy Spirit? Having a relationship with the Holy Spirit not only gives us new life but many other gifts: the fruit of the Spirit, knowledge of Christ, discernment, wisdom, guidance, comfort, power, spiritual gifts, sanctification, conviction, etc. Under Grace, we live by faith and not by works of the LAW. Under Grace we are given a new perspective, motivation and purpose. Under grace we died to our old selves.

"Grace is the holy love if Gid in the move". Juwett
Grace is the goodwill of God". Eddie
Grace is "All that the Greeks were and loved and exemplified in their art, literature and thought lies embedded in this word... God has in no word uttered Himself and all that is in His heart more than in this". Trench
"Grace has no measure." A.J. Flint
Grace is summoned up in the Name, Person, and work if the Lord Jesus Christ." C. Swindoll
That said, can we honor and glorify Jesus by simply saying He was kind? I think you need to expand on that.
How does your NWT translate Eph. 2:7 that states: "...that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness..."

Your translators got tripped up on that one, since a different word for kindness is used, it can't read "undeserved kindness in kindness" so it flips it around and partially cincedes and says, "... undeserved kindness in his graciousness..."NWT

Ephesians 2:7 Lexicon: so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Put it to the test Ron, take up a survey ask the definition of grace and the definition of kindness, you will have many variations on what grace is. Old English words are not near as understandable.

 

[Helen]

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Eph. 3:8-9

I was taught that Grace was God's "unmerited favor" towards mankind. But it is much more than that!
Grace is the core theme of the New Testament, that flows through all the books. Christians are under Grace. Being "in Christ is living in His Grace".
Grace is not just kindness or favor, it is His love in action, forgiveness, mercy, peace, knowledge, wisdom, power, sanctification, healing, good works prepared for us to do, an array of spiritual gifts, fruit, power and salvation. Grace makes us sufficient in all things. Jesus was declared righteous and this is from His grace. His righteousness is imputed to us.
The Doctrine of GRACE should be at the forefront of our teaching. To remove this very word from the Bible and to replace it with any other word would be consider gross negligence.

Acts of the Apostles 4:33
Acts of the Apostles 14:3
Acts of the Apostles 15:11
Acts of the Apostles 20:24
Romans 3:24
Romans 5:15
1 Corinthians 15:10
2 Corinthians 8:9
2 Corinthians 9:8
2 Corinthians 12:9
Ephesians 1:6-7
Ephesians 2:5-9
Ephesians 3:7-8.
2 Timothy 2:1
Titus 2:11
Titus 3:7
Hebrews 4:16
James 4:6
1 Peter 5:10

No questions, just a study.

AGREE!

It is a whole lot more…

Grace is - Gods ability in us, to do what we can’t do…..and His reflection in our life.

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

Put it to the test Ron, take up a survey ask the definition of grace and the definition of kindness, you will have many variations on what grace is. Old English words are not near as understandable.

Grace is kindness and I did say that, but that is not all it is. Grace is without measure and so to put it on trial with a popular vote would be cheap. The scriptures describe what Grace is and how it transcends into our lives as blessings. We are blessed in many ways by the love of GOD.

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

That is correct. The problem about "imputed" is that it further promotes the misinterpretation of God's grace. It is not unmerited favor; God's grace is the divine power of God given to us to completely change our nature to the divine nature of Christ. 2 Peter 1:2-4. It is not Christ's righteousness imputed to us to cover willful sins we continue to commit, as in unmerited favor. Christ was sinless, and His grace gives us the divine power of God to be and remain sinless also. Jesus was the firstborn of many brethren Romans 8:29-30, and why Christians who are born again do not sin. 1 John 3:9, and the Spirit gives us the desire to keep ourselves free from sin, 1 John 5:18.

We all know that Christ died for our sins and rose on the third day. We all know that our sins are NOT covered but washed, removed. So why do you remain stuck on the meaning of impute as if it means to cover- it doesn't.
Adam's sin was imputed to us.
So we see that there are negative applications of that word.
Sin is likened to a genetic defect that we all inherited. We did not earn it ourselves, Adam did and passed it on.
We did not earn (merit) salvation, Jesus did. So His righteousness is given to us in that same way as Adam gave us sin. Our spirits were dead, defective and now they are purified (healed) and alive.

 

[Happy Trails]

Grace is unmerited no matter what it is.

The fact we walk this earth is of grace.

the fact we have the offer to be saved eternally is by grace

the fact we have the ability to be gods child is by grace.

Its not a covering, It is a status.

We are saved by grace.. Its a gift. that gift can not be earned, since it can not be earned, it can not be lost.

You are conflating salvation and grace, a gift and a reward.

I don't agree that your existence is a matter of grace. That sets the baseline for grace so low that no one could escape it. But, the folks in Noah's day DID escape God's grace. Why? They chose to walk a different way. The way they chose was evil, and because of that evil, God destroyed them, showing literally NO grace. Noah walked with God. He found grace. Why? He found grace because he chose to listen to YHVH and walk according to his instructions, whatever they were. Favor from YHVH is given to his obedient children.

If YHVH had saved any of the evil people, he would have been a respecter of persons. THAT would be unmerited favor.

Now, someone can be the worst sinner ever. When they say, "I surrender," to YHVH, they are as saved as they are ever going to get. It was free. They did not earn it. They asked for it, and got it.

If that person wants to walk in the favor of YHVH, obedience is the key. They can claim that they are in grace because they exist. Or, they can claim they are walking in grace because they have a huge church and world-wide ministry. The meaning of the word is being lost.

Titus 2 says that grace teaches us to walk godly in this wicked world. It does NOT say grace teaches us we can ignore God's instructions because Jesus saved us.

The definition of "reward" is something that is earned. Jesus is returning with "rewards" as well as free salvation, even for the new convert. Salvation is free. Rewards are earned. Free admission to a school is useless if we don't read the instructions.

A Crown of Righteousness is not going to be given to disobedient children.

 

[1stCenturyLady]

We all know that Christ died for our sins and rose on the third day. We all know that our sins are NOT covered but washed, removed. So why do you remain stuck on the meaning of impute as if it means to cover- it doesn't.
Adam's sin was imputed to us.
So we see that there are negative applicatuons of that word.
Sin is likened to a genetic defect that we all inherited. We did not earn it ourselves, Adam did and passed it on.
We did not earn (merit) salvation, Jesus did. So His righteousness is given to us in that same way as Adam gave us sin. Our spirits were dead, defective and now they are purified (healed) and alive.

You sound like you believe after being born again we still retain the sin nature of Adam. We don't. That is why you don't understand the difference between the OT imputed, and Jesus' real righteousness. The nature that Jesus gives us is real, not the old man of Adam's glossed over with Jesus' righteousness. Don't you know that Jesus came to free us from Adam's sin and to destroy the works of the devil in us? That is in two stages of death. First our nature where sin resides is crucified so that both our mind and heart are born again and puts on immortality. Romans 6:1-7 Only our outer shell of a body must still die because of Adam's sin, not ours, and will be resurrected taking on immortality. 1 John 3:5-9; Romans 8:9-10 (verse 10 is where many do not understand whose sin is referred to. Those who believe and use "imputed" believe as you do, but it is the body that must still die because of Adam's sin, NOT OURS. All of Adam must die in us, not just our inner nature that becomes born again with the seed of the Father now. 1 John 3:9)

Read Romans 4 and 5 and see that Paul in his teaching leading up to the Spirit and rebirth is referring to the time before the law, and after the law (Abraham and David), but before becoming one with Christ's death and resurrection, chapter 6. Chapter 7 is still us under the law and what it was like, but read from verse 5 and see that we now are no longer under that law, but the Spirit shown fully in chapter 8)

cc: @Enoch111 and @marks on OT only imputed sin and righteousness. Chapter 4 and 5 of Romans is before and after the law. Abraham and David. Romans 7:9