Saved By Grace
Let us pray- Break open your Word within me until revelation light shines out! Those with open hearts are given insight into your plans.
Summarizing last week, we ended up with a definition of Grace from apostle Thamo Naidoo.
Grace is that Divine invisible, immaterial property or veritable substance in the Godhead that empowers you to function as a representation of God, and also resources you, thus enabling you to function in a particular way to get work done according to the plan of God.”
We have learned that grace is many-sided. We also learnt that Jesus is full of grace & truth. That is what He contains.
John 1:14 NKJV 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.
Tracing our identity - John 1:12-13 NKJV But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: [13] who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 3:3,5-6 NKJV Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." [5] Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. [6] That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
THE NEW BIRTH introduces us to Grace. Ephesians 2:7-10 NKJV That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace, you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, [9] not of works, lest anyone should boast. [10] For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
THE NEW BIRTH -is about KINGDOM, coming out of the domain described in Ephesians 2:1-3 NIV As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
By grace, we have been rescued out of that dominion and brought into the kingdom of the Son he loves, Colossians 1:13 NIV For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.
Salvation is by Grace through faith. Access into THIS GRACE is BY FAITH in CHRIST JESUS.
Romans 5:1-4 NIV Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Romans 5:5 This kind of hope does not disappoint; the gift of the Holy Spirit completes our every expectation and ignites the love of God within us like an artesian well.
In Christ, we have been brought near God. Our boldness to approach our Father is by Grace. Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
The new birth is an introduction to Grace. Romans 5 verse 1 implies that Grace is a way of life – “grace in which we now stand.” We enter our new life in Christ by faith, This verse implies that we do not just enter by grace through faith, but one must stand, be anchored and be secure in our relationship with Him by grace.
Beautiful scripture like Acts 20:32 NKJV “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Access, introduction to grace is not the end, the entire journey from beginning to the finish is by GRACE. 1 Peter 5:12 TPT. I, Peter, with the help of Silas, whom I consider a trustworthy, faith-filled brother, have written you this short letter so that I might encourage you and personally testify that this is the true, dependable grace of God. Stand fast in this grace.
REGENERATION- The impartation of spiritual life to those who are spiritually dead through their trespasses and sins as we have seen in Ephesians 2 verse 1. We have also read from John chapter 3 that one cannot enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit. In Titus 3 verse 5 we see that 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, The Holy Spirit is the One that renews us, regenerates us, One who imparts this new life. We see elsewhere in John 15 verse 3 that it is the WORD that makes us clean. You are already clean because of the Word I have spoken to you. We also see that we(the Church, Ekklesia/Children of God) are made holy, being cleansed by the washing with water through the word, No wonder we are told that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. The Holy Spirit imparts this life (Saved by Grace) and the Word of God is the instrument the Holy Spirit uses in regeneration. This is important. God has given birth to us through the word of truth. Remember last week we said that Jesus Christ is full of grace and truth and that of His fullness we have all received grace upon grace!!! We have been born again not of perishable seed but of imperishable through the living and enduring Word of God. We can see clearly that the Word is full of Grace and Truth!
Let us pray Ezekiel 36: 24-27 “For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and of all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. LORD GOD, we yield to the process you have initiated in Christ to make us Your own.
We are grateful. Here we are saying yes and submitting ourselves to You for cleansing, we depart from stubbornness, rebellion, and idolatry. We repent and turn towards You. By faith we receive a new heart of flesh, we receive from You an impartation of Your Spirit in us, and we embrace the move that will cause us to follow You all the days of our lives in Jesus' Name we pray and believe. Amen.
Grace is that Divine invisible, immaterial property or veritable substance in the Godhead that empowers you to function as a representation of God, and also resources you, thus enabling you to function in a particular way to get work done according to the plan of God.”
We have learned that grace is many-sided. We also learnt that Jesus is full of grace & truth. That is what He contains.
John 1:14 NKJV 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.
Tracing our identity - John 1:12-13 NKJV But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: [13] who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 3:3,5-6 NKJV Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." [5] Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. [6] That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
THE NEW BIRTH introduces us to Grace. Ephesians 2:7-10 NKJV That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace, you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, [9] not of works, lest anyone should boast. [10] For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
THE NEW BIRTH -is about KINGDOM, coming out of the domain described in Ephesians 2:1-3 NIV As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
By grace, we have been rescued out of that dominion and brought into the kingdom of the Son he loves, Colossians 1:13 NIV For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.
Salvation is by Grace through faith. Access into THIS GRACE is BY FAITH in CHRIST JESUS.
Romans 5:1-4 NIV Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Romans 5:5 This kind of hope does not disappoint; the gift of the Holy Spirit completes our every expectation and ignites the love of God within us like an artesian well.
In Christ, we have been brought near God. Our boldness to approach our Father is by Grace. Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
The new birth is an introduction to Grace. Romans 5 verse 1 implies that Grace is a way of life – “grace in which we now stand.” We enter our new life in Christ by faith, This verse implies that we do not just enter by grace through faith, but one must stand, be anchored and be secure in our relationship with Him by grace.
Beautiful scripture like Acts 20:32 NKJV “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Access, introduction to grace is not the end, the entire journey from beginning to the finish is by GRACE. 1 Peter 5:12 TPT. I, Peter, with the help of Silas, whom I consider a trustworthy, faith-filled brother, have written you this short letter so that I might encourage you and personally testify that this is the true, dependable grace of God. Stand fast in this grace.
REGENERATION- The impartation of spiritual life to those who are spiritually dead through their trespasses and sins as we have seen in Ephesians 2 verse 1. We have also read from John chapter 3 that one cannot enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit. In Titus 3 verse 5 we see that 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, The Holy Spirit is the One that renews us, regenerates us, One who imparts this new life. We see elsewhere in John 15 verse 3 that it is the WORD that makes us clean. You are already clean because of the Word I have spoken to you. We also see that we(the Church, Ekklesia/Children of God) are made holy, being cleansed by the washing with water through the word, No wonder we are told that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. The Holy Spirit imparts this life (Saved by Grace) and the Word of God is the instrument the Holy Spirit uses in regeneration. This is important. God has given birth to us through the word of truth. Remember last week we said that Jesus Christ is full of grace and truth and that of His fullness we have all received grace upon grace!!! We have been born again not of perishable seed but of imperishable through the living and enduring Word of God. We can see clearly that the Word is full of Grace and Truth!
Let us pray Ezekiel 36: 24-27 “For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and of all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. LORD GOD, we yield to the process you have initiated in Christ to make us Your own.
We are grateful. Here we are saying yes and submitting ourselves to You for cleansing, we depart from stubbornness, rebellion, and idolatry. We repent and turn towards You. By faith we receive a new heart of flesh, we receive from You an impartation of Your Spirit in us, and we embrace the move that will cause us to follow You all the days of our lives in Jesus' Name we pray and believe. Amen.
Ciiru Wambui
Blogger
