GRACE OF GOD – The True Meaning Revealed For The First Time.

(Excerpt from ‘Visions of Righteousness of God’, 2016 Title Book).

The grace of God is a metaphor of the prevailing reign in the Kingdom of God. It represents the account of the working of the Spirit of glory and of God (Hebrew 1:3). What is this working of the Spirit of glory and of God? Examination of the scriptures reveals that Jesus is both God, being His Word (John 1:1; Rev. 19:11-16), and the glory of God (John 1:14). This suggests that the working of the Spirit of glory and of God is the ‘Reign of Christ the Lord’. Knowledge by inspiration revealed that it is this reign upon any situation on earth which the scripture decoded as the grace of God. It might therefore be apt to regard grace of God as the imprint of the ‘Reign of Christ the Lord’.

It thus implies that the grace of God is peculiar to Him and the Kingdom of God, different from the grace of man in the same way that His love is. So there cannot be grace of God without Jesus Christ the Lord. It is the experience of this atmosphere of reign which suggests that the grace of God is upon a situation (1 Peter 4:14). This might be in a situation where man is facing tribulations for the sake of believing in Jesus and yet is able to persevere. It is such that builds the character of a man to rejoice in adversity in hope of the glory of God.

This atmosphere of grace is of the righteousness of God. A man might access it with faith through Christ (Rom. 5:2). It clearly suggests that grace is not what might accurately be described as either undeserved or unmerited favour. We might be trivializing grace of God to label it as an unmerited favour. Obviously, there is nothing of God which man merits. Favour is itself unmerited. An example is that Abraham received favour of God. But he did not merit it. This is because he worshiped idol like every other persons of his time before God called him alone (Genesis 12:1).

This suggests a grave flaw in the opinion of many Christians who today regard and accept that the grace of God is an unmerited and undeserved favour. It is a pointer to the deception going on in Christianity. It is believed that it is this viewing of the grace of God through human prism that has further suggested another flaw. This is to believe the loud and yet unsustainable claim that the past, present and future sins have been forgiven those who might believe in Jesus who was crucified on the cross. This error suggests that many who hold to such understanding might unwittingly be lacking in true knowledge of the grace of God. Let us examine what the scriptures say about grace.

Grace came through Jesus (John 1:17). The scripture is very emphatic that the sacrifice which Jesus made on the cross was the justification of God to forgive man the sins which he committed previously (Rom. 3:25). This is the foundation upon which every other talks around the grace of God stands. It is this one-off sacrifice which suggested that the entire human race was at once saved by grace (Eph. 2:8). This salvation was of the Counsel of God alone. Meaning it is the common salvation to everybody; irrespective of race, religion, and colour, gender and so on (Jude 3a). This suggests another stage of grace for those who might believe to enable them work out own salvation (Phil. 2:12).

The scripture paints a picture suggesting that to believe amounts to abiding in Jesus thereafter, like a leech would do (John 15:4-5). The man who obeys this requirement is whom King David foresaw that God will not impute sin to (Rom. 4:8). He has been born of God. As a result God has given to him the new Spirit of Christ to live for Him. The new Spirit is what made him a ‘born again’ person. It is this Spirit alone which the Holy Spirit has sealed to preserve the virtue of the nature of God in him (Eph. 1:13). So technically he does not sin because of the seed of God in him (1 John 3:9). If the soul and body of the man which are normally of joint existence with the Spirit chose not to obey the Spirit the man will disengage from Christ and wither like a branch of a tree starved of water (John 15:6).  So he will be robbed of the knowledge and wisdom of God. But if the man confesses and repents of the sin committed he will be cleansed by the blood of Jesus  (1 John 1:7).

Grace made propitiation of Jesus to fulfill King David’s prophecy of; ‘blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered’. This prophecy referred to the Gentiles and Israelite who might believe in Jesus Christ (Rom. 4:7). As a result God promised not to remember the sins anymore (Is. 43:25; Heb. 8:12; Heb. 10:17).

No man will ever be punished or judged on account of the sins for which Jesus suffered, or be alienated from God because of them. This suggests that once a man thinks he has believed, he is to carry his cross and follow Christ continually (Mk. 8:34). It is believed that every other scripture on forgiveness by the grace of God might only survive scrutiny when viewed solely in the context of the common salvation by the propitiation of Jesus (Rom. 3:25).

The fundamental knowledge in the foregoing is that man is three natures in unity.  In addition only the spirit nature presently has the investiture of holiness and righteousness (Eph. 4:24). Meaning that there remains the soul and body to be so robed (Corinthian 3:18; 5:1-3; Rom. 8:11). This means man has the duty to guide against corrupting his body and soul. It suggests an affirmation of another level of grace, and the scripture which requires man to work out own salvation.

This grace has to be accessed. How? By imitating Abram who though, was blind like everybody is believed God. Therefore man is to believe in Jesus so that God will impute his belief to him for righteousness, apart from his works (Rom. 4:6). Next God will give the gift of the Spirit of faith to the man (Ron. 4:5). This gift of faith is of the form of the light of God who has shown in man’s heart to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthian 4:6).

It is this gift of faith which enables man to develop personal faith by hearing the word of God as often as possible (Rom. 10:17). Hearing manifests the glow of the glory of God to the consciousness of man. This awakens his consciousness to surrender to Jesus Christ and to the knowledge that God is. This is the faith of this man. Then by grace God will give to him the new heart of flesh (undivided) and new Spirit of holiness and righteousness (Ezekiel 36:26). This suggests that the soul and body will cue behind the spirit in the newness of the Spirit of Christ to walk by faith (Rom. 8:1, 4; 1 Tim. 6:1); being the only way to please God (Heb. 11:6). However the weakness of the body and soul in the interim makes it a challenge. Here is where to again give thanks to God for the grace of daily living which He has given to man (2 Cor. 12:9).

But can this righteousness bestowed be reversed? The answer is yes. Ezekiel prophesied it that if a man who once received righteousness backslides and will not repent, he will die like Adam (Ezek. 18:24). Thus the quote ‘that all died in Adam’ is not parallel to the quote ‘that all might live in Christ’. The reason is that in Adam all men were in his loins. But in Christ every man is made righteous according to his choice (Deut. 30:19).  Then he is to work out own salvation (Phil. 2:12). This suggests that backsliding permanently might attract withdrawal of right of righteousness of God in Christ because light and darkness does not coexist (2 Corinthian 6:14). Every man shall account for his present and future sins on the day of the Lord (2 Cor. 5:10); using the teaching of the Holy Spirit as the standard (1 Corinthian 2:13). What then is this grace of God?

REMARKS ON THE ILLUSTRATION

Every man is darkness (Eph. 5:8). He is born into the dark plane representing the kingdom of darkness of iniquity and sins. This is within the heart of man and it is separated from God (Ps. 51:5).

Truth is the life of the word of God (John 17:17). It is truth that conveys divine virtues. The features of divine virtues are the instruments of governance in heaven. They are poured out of heaven to make imprints which form the kingdom of God within man. Imprints signify the intervention of Christ in man’s situation. These are the ongoing back end activities of grace in man’s heart. It is the imprint that the scripture has decoded in the front end on earth, as the grace of God.

Love is the prime instrument of governance, and its imprint is the bedrock of the kingdom of God within man (Lk. 17:21). In any situation of man an apt imprint of grace might appear on the plane of bedrock to lend a hand.

The plane of darkness of iniquity and sin into which man is born and lives lies below the plane of bedrock, indicated with stars. It is from this kingdom of darkness that a man of faith might through Christ access the kingdom of God within him, to obtain mercy and find grace to aid him in times of need (Heb. 4:16). In other words, man requires faith to ascend to stand in grace. The aftermath is the opportunity to rejoice in hope of the glory of God (Rom.5:2). Standing in grace grants man the benefits of the reign of Christ, or His governance. In order words Christ will do all things through him as though he is the doer (Phil. 4:13).

EXPLANATION OF HOW GRACE HELPS MAN

Let’s examine the woman with the issue of blood as an example of how grace works. The account suggests that she believed a hunch, which came from the Spirit of faith. It made her to believe that touching the hem of the robe of Jesus would heal her. As a result she surrendered to the voice, which is the practical way to express faith. Meaning she carried out the intrinsic work in the voice by touching the hem of the robe of Jesus Christ (Mk. 5:30).

As expected, she was healed by the grace of God. Jesus equally noticed that power left Him. This suggests that grace is a result of back end activity as shown previously in the illustration. In other words, that Jesus felt some power left Him suggests that grace is caused by some sort of operation by a certain force in the kingdom of God. That certain force is the action of instrument of governance in the kingdom as shown.

But governance in the kingdom is the description of the reign of Christ. So grace is the expression on earth of the imprint made by the intervening force of the reign of Christ in the kingdom of God within man. That is to say that, the intervening power of the reign of Christ first makes a divine imprint in the kingdom of God within man. Then the imprint is decoded in the dark spirit realm of iniquity and sin in man’s heart (Ps. 51:5), and is made known to the outward senses as grace.

Going back to the woman, she was darkness and lived in the plane of darkness (Eph. 5:8). But her faith lifted her up to the plane of grace. Then she found grace to help in her need, and she was healed (Heb. 4:16). The declaration by Jesus that the woman’s faith healed her testified to the role of faith in the matters of grace (Mk. 5:34).

To recap, the imprint which is made in the kingdom of God within man is known on earth as grace. Every imprint is made by an intervening power from heaven and is known as the instrument of governance in the reign of Christ.

The benefit of grace is spiritual in form. It is in the likeness of the wind, which is neither seen nor touchable but can be made conscious of by feeling or hearing (John 3:8). It is this which suggests the difference between grace and favour. How? Every benefit regarding human or worldly life derived from inhumanly impossible circumstances or unexpected source is not a result of grace. Rather, it is as a result of favour.

THE PROOF THAT GRACE IS THE IMPRINT OF THE REIGN OF CHRIST

 Let us consider two scenarios:

1. It is the grace of God alone which can enable man to endure and bear and hope and believe all things. These are the nuts and bolts of love (1 Cor. 13:7).

1.1. An example, consider the man who cannot exercise self-control. Experience suggests that he cannot endure injustices like: reproaches, slaps, persecution and insults without avenge unless by grace of God (1 Pet. 3:14).

2. On the other hand, to face reproach and still be calm is a sign of the presence of the Spirit of glory, and of God upon victim (1 Pet. 4:14).

Now harmonize the two scenarios. It will suggest that the Spirit of glory and of God upon man is a description of the grace of God upon man. As it has been previously shown, grace is a metaphor for the imprint by instrument of divine governance. But as it has been explained previously an imprint in this context is the expression of instrument of reign of Spirit of glory, and of God.

Now Jesus Christ is the glory of God, and He is also the express nature of God (Heb. 1:3). This suggests that the presence of the Spirit of glory and of God is a description of the stewardship of Jesus Christ.

Incidentally the stewardship depicts the reign of Christ the Lord. This suggests that ‘grace is the imprint of the reign of Jesus Christ’ upon a given situation.

(Quod erat demonstrandum)

TABLE OF ANALYSIS

Nobody is in doubt that the favour of God is unmerited.

What then can be said of grace? Could it be a doubly unmerited favour?

That might suggest interpretation of the scripture with the wisdom of man.

It will imply therefore, that to label grace as unmerited favour denies the truth. One benefit of this new understanding by inspiration is that grace will constantly remind man of the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in our heart – the plane of stars in the previous illustration.