"Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ"
(John 1:14-17)

"What is due to grace; a. the spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace."

But doesn't grace mean the "kindness which bestows upon what he has not deserved?," that is, it is an unmerited or gift of God's favor? Let's see what the Scripture says.


Grace is a free gift:

We are "justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24).

"The free gift . . . the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:15; cf. 20, 21).

"The grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 1:4).

"The grace of God in you. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift" (II Corinthians 9:14, 15).

"The grace that was given unto me [Paul]" (Galatians 2:9).

"By grace are ye saved . . . it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8).

"The dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward" (Ephesians 3:2).

"Now our Lord Jesus Christ . . . hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace" (II Thessalonians 2:16).

"Who have saved us . . . according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus" (II Timothy 1:9).

"[God] giveth more grace . . . giveth grace unto the humble" (James 4:6).

So we receive the gift of grace. What does grace do?


Grace justifies:

"Justified freely by his grace" (Romans 3:24).

"Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 5:20, 21).

"By their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift" (II Corinthians 9:14, 15

"Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved)" (Ephesians 2:5).

"Our Lord Jesus Christ . . . hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace" (II Thessalonians 2:16).

"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling . . . according to his own purpose and grace" (II Timothy 1:9).

"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men" (Titus 2:11).

"Being justified by his grace" (Titus 3:7).

Grace empowers men to live righteously and godly:

"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body. . . . For sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:12, 14).

"I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you in Jesus Christ; That in everything ye are enriched by him" (I Corinthians 1:4, 5).

Paul wrote he behaved "with holiness and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God" (II Corinthians 1:12 RSV).

"It is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day" (II Corinthians 4:15 RSV).

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (II Corinthians 9:8).

"God . . . hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. . . . For by grace are ye saved through faith . . . we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Ephesians 2:5, 8, 10).

"The word of the truth of the gospel . . . bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God. . . . That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:5, 6, 10).

"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" (Titus 2:11, 12).

Barnabas investigated and saw "the grace of God" (Acts 11:23).

Grace is best understood by its use in the New Testament. Scriptures showing empowerment are:

When the apostles and their helpers went on their mission journeys, they were "recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled" (Acts 14:26; cf. 15:40).

Paul "received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith" (Romans 1:5).

"For I [Paul] say, through the grace given unto me" (Romans 12:3).

Christians have "gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us" (Romans 12:6).

"I have written the more boldly unto you . . . because of the grace that is given to me of God" (Romans 15:15).

"According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation" (I Corinthians 3:10).

During severe affliction and poverty "the grace of God [was] bestowed on the churches of Macedonia" (II Corinthians 8:1).

"God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (I Corinthians 9:8

"My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmation, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (I Corinthians 12:9).

"By the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (I Corinthians 15:10).

Paul knew "when it pleased God . . . [He] called me by his grace" (Galatians 1:15).

Paul "was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach" (Ephesians 3:7, 8).

Paul once "a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious" knew that "the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love" toward him (I Timothy 1:13, 14).

"Grow in grace" (II Peter 3:18).