The Package Called Grace Part 1
GOD’S WAY BIBLE STUDY
The Package Called Grace
Tuesday August 27, 2024
Everything we will ever need is in the package called Grace.
1 Corinthians 15:10 KJ21
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all - yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Grace makes. (I am what I am)
Gave gives. (Bestowed upon )
Grace empowers. (I labored more.., yet not I)
Without grace, there will be frustration. (But the grace of God which was with me.)
4 Questions:
What is Grace, Why do we need Grace, How do we access Grace, How do we not frustrate Grace?
What is Grace?
Grace is God’s Complete Package to Be, to Have and to Do.
Grace is the infusion/transfusion of God into man, by His Holy Spirit, making man into what he could have never been, giving him what he could have never earned and empowering Him to do what He could have never done.
Grace is an unearned, undeserved gift, given by God not because of who we are, or what we have done, but because of Who He is.
Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. [9] Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. [10] For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 2:8-10 NKJV
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.
Grace in the Old Testament
Romans 9:10-13 NLT
This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins. [11] But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; [12] he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, "Your older son will serve your younger son." [13] In the words of the Scriptures, "I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau."
Deuteronomy 7:6-9 NLT
For you are a holy people, who belong to the LORD your God. Of all the people on earth, the LORD your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure. [7] "The LORD did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! [8] Rather, it was simply that the LORD loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the LORD rescued you with such a strong hand from your slavery and from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. [9] Understand, therefore, that the LORD your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.
Why Do We Need Grace?
We need Grace to be, to have and to do all God has in mind for us.
Without Grace we are nothing.
Your identity must be established by Grace, otherwise you’re nothing. I am what I am by the grace of God.
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 NLT
Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. [27] Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. [28] God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. [29] As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
Grace makes nothing out of something and makes something out of nothing.
Ephesians 2:11-13 NLT
Don't forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called "uncircumcised heathens" by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. [12] In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. [13] But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
Without Grace we have nothing.
Whatever we have apart from Grace will not stand the test of fire.
It may seem to be much in time, but in eternity, it will amount to nothing.
1 Peter 1:18-19,24-25 NKJV
knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, [19] but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. [24] because "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, [25] But the word of the LORD endures forever." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
Jeremiah 9:23-26 NLT
This is what the LORD says: "Don't let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. [24] But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the LORD, have spoken! [25] "A time is coming," says the LORD, "when I will punish all those who are circumcised in body but not in spirit- [26] the Egyptians, Edomites, Ammonites, Moabites, the people who live in the desert in remote places, and yes, even the people of Judah. And like all these pagan nations, the people of Israel also have uncircumcised hearts."
2 Peter 3:7,11-13 NLT
And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed. [11] Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, [12] looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. [13] But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God's righteousness.
Without Grace, we can do nothing.
Psalm 127:1-2 NLT
Unless the LORD builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the LORD protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. [2] It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.
Zechariah 4:6 NKJV
So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts.
John 15:5 NLT
"Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.
How Do We Access Grace?
By Faith in Jesus….
Romans 5:1-2 NKJV
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, [2] through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Jesus is the only access we have to God, the only access to the Holy Spirit and the only access to anything we will ever receive from God. He is the way. He is the door.
John 10:9 NKJV
I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
John 14:6 NLT
Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
Ephesians 2:18 NLT
Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
Ephesians 3:12 NKJV
in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.
Hebrews 10:19-20 NLT
And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. [20] By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.
Ephesians 1:6 NLT
So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.
Ephesians 1:6 NKJV
to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
By allowing God to remake us into whatever He chooses.
Grace makes and remakes.
2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT
You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.
Accessing Grace always requires sacrifice and risk.
What are you willing to give up? What risks are you willing to take at God’s command?
Abram risked his known life for an unknown future; willing to sacrifice Isaac.
Esther risked her life.
Peter, Andrew, James and John gave up their fishing business.
Paul gave up everything he counted as gain.
Jesus gave up His life.
By humility.
Agreeing with and not arguing with God. Not my will, but yours be done.
We may think a man is humble if he doesn’t boast or brag, but if he dares to disagree with God, he is not humble.
Philippians 2:5-11 NLT
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. [6] Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. [7] Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, [8] he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross. [9] Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, [10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
